cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decrease Hospital Spending: There's an App for That! A Retrospective Analysis of Implementation of a Mobile Resident Handbook on Hospital Costs and Disposition

Abstract Background: Patient care involves time sensitive decisions. Matching a patient's presenting condition with possible diagnoses requires proper assessment and diagnostic tests. Timely access to necessary information leads to improved patient care, better outcomes, and decreased costs. Introduction: This study evaluated objective outcomes of the implementation of a novel Resident Handbook Application (RHAP) for smart phones. Methods: The RHAP included tools necessary to make proper assessments and to order appropriate tests. The RHAPs effectiveness was accessed using the Military Health System Military Mart database. This database includes patient specific aggregate data, including diagnosis, patient demographics, itemized cost, hospital days, and disposition status. Multivariable analysis was used to compare before and after RHAP implementation, controlling for patient demographics and diagnosis. Internal medicine admission data were used as a control group. Results: There was a statistically signi...
Medieval Affects Now

Medievalists are uniquely qualified to intervene in what has been called “the affective turn” in contemporary cultural theory (Clough and Halley 2007). That is because, as scholars working across h...
Using Model-Based Systems Engineering to Provide Artifacts for NASA Project Life-cycle and Technical Reviews

This paper is for the AIAA Space Conference. The ability of systems engineers to use model-based systems engineering (MBSE) to generate self-consistent, up-to-date systems engineering products for project life-cycle and technical reviews is an important aspect for the continued and accelerated acceptance of MBSE. Currently, many review products are generated using labor-intensive, error-prone approaches based on documents, spreadsheets, and chart sets; a promised benefit of MBSE is that users will experience reductions in inconsistencies and errors. This work examines features of SysML that can be used to generate systems engineering products. Model elements, relationships, tables, and diagrams are identified for a large number of the typical systems engineering artifacts. A SysML system model can contain and generate most systems engineering products to a significant extent and this paper provides a guide on how to use MBSE to generate products for project life-cycle and technical reviews. The use of MBSE can reduce the schedule impact usually experienced for review preparation, as in many cases the review products can be auto-generated directly from the system model. These approaches are useful to systems engineers, project managers, review board members, and other key project stakeholders.
Self-Care Practices of Rural People with HIV Disease

This qualitative study identified and explored the self-care behaviors of individuals with HIV/AIDS who live in rural areas. Four audiotaped focus groups were conducted with nineteen men and eight women in the rural South. Participants described activities used to take care of themselves and help them to feel better. Data analysis revealed three categories: (1) dealing with rural issues, (2) staying healthy, and (3) ways of taking care of self with HIV. Three subcategories illustrated the concept of dealing with rural issues: (a) returning home, (b) disclosing vs. not disclosing HIV status, and (c) obtaining care. The second category, staying healthy, was portrayed by sub-categories of: (a) eating right, (b) exercising, (c) practicing safer sex, (d) discontinuing drug usage, (e) keeping a positive attitude, and (f) staying busy. The third category, taking care of self with HIV disease depicted sub-categories of participants' descriptions of: (a) taking vs. not medications, (b) going to the doctor, (c) educating themselves about HIV/AIDS, and (d) being involved with HIV/AIDS. This study has implications for health care providers and community planners. Keywords: HIV/AIDS, self-care, rural, focus group http://dx.doi.org/10.14574/ojrnhc.v1i1.500
Prediction of enhancer RNA activity levels from ChIP-seq-derived histone modification combinatorial codes

Motivation: Transcription-regulatory elements (TREs) are critical modulators of gene transcription, with promoters and enhancers being major hubs for gene regulation. Of these, enhancers are distal regulatory elements, typically short 50–150 basepairs DNA regions and are identified via the large numbers of genomic regions displaying enhancer-like chromatin features, such as histone modifications at regulatory sites. Given that enhancers operate at sites vastly removed from their cognate genes, their computational prediction is challenging. While ChIP-seq datasets have been used to map out parts of the epigenome, only a fraction of predicted enhancers have been found to be functionally active. Thus, recent methods, such as GRO-seq, have been used to elucidate functionally active enhancers. However, GRO-seq data is sparse, being experimentally complex, and often at insufficient resolution. Hence, in this paper, we evaluate the ability of ChIP-seq data to predict the eRNA activity, as given by GRO-seq, using as inputs the signatures of key histone modifications that are known to be predictive of enhancers. We implement two models with accurate performance for the entire range of eRNA activity, spanning 5 orders of magnitude, for the human embryonic stem cell type H1. We then perform a detailed comparison with a prior computational approach for (binary) enhancer activity classification. Results: Our best performing model is the Convolutional Neural Network (CNN)-based regression model, indicating that the epigenetic patterns are location invariant. We achieve an overall RMSE of 0.82 compared to the baseline's (ZeroR) 1.30. In the comparison with a prior approach, our model achieves AUC of 0.75 against the prior approach's 0.56.
Flow Reduction-Aided Thrombin Injection for Complex Femoral Pseudoaneurysms: Case Series and Review of the Literature.

Background Peripheral pseudoaneurysms are a known complication of vascular access procedures. Complex lesions—those with short, wide necks or other complex arrangements—would conventionally require open repair, but we believe that even these lesions could be managed with an endovascular approach. Methods Four patients with complex pseudoaneurysms were offered an open repair or thrombin injection with the use of flow-reducing balloons. Results In our series of 4 patients with complex pseudoaneurysms, all were safely treated with percutaneous thrombin injection in conjunction with endovascular flow reduction. All patients recovered from their procedures without incident and are free from recurrence at follow-up. Conclusions Flow reduction–aided thrombin injection may have particular utility in complex femoral pseudoaneurysms, especially in a patient population that may not tolerate open repair. High-risk lesions may merit special consideration for this technique, and further study is warranted.
Guarding Against Exploitation: Protecting Indigenous Knowledge in the Age of Climate Change

Indigenous knowledge has the potential to ameliorate the extreme, destructive impacts of climate change. Given their enduring connection to place, indigenous communities are the subjects of knowledge acquisition relevant to the changing climate. Yet, because this traditional knowledge has been exploited by outsiders, indigenous communities may be wary to share such valuable information with individuals outside of their communities. And, even if traditional knowledge is shared, indigenous peoples may wish to maintain control over its use to guard against exploitation. This article addresses concerns associated with the stewarding of such traditional knowledge, in hopes of providing legal structure to the conversation. As the application of traditional knowledge becomes more apparent in the climate change context, a conversation to invoke action in the academy and legal systems is needed to create structures that value as well as protect the complexities of indigenous community-based research. Ultimately, this article strives to explore methods of holding those who seek and steward traditional knowledge accountable to indigenous communities. To accomplish this goal, this article examines traditional knowledge held by tribes within the United States that may prove helpful in the fight against the deleterious impacts of climate change. Then, having identified valuable knowledge possessed by tribes, the article goes on to examine the potential for existing domestic and international law to protect against the exploitation of such knowledge. After concluding that the existing law provides inadequate protection at best, the article asserts that tribes may be better served by enacting their own tribal laws to protect against such exploitation, and then explores the existing tribal law enacted to protect tribal traditional knowledge. This is the first article to provide concrete examples of traditional knowledge useful in combating the impacts of climate change and how the law may apply in such instances. This is also the first article to examine the use of tribal law to address the protection of traditional knowledge in-depth and provide a discussion of how some tribes are already utilizing tribal law to accomplish such goals. Accordingly, this article constitutes an important addition to the scholarship surrounding protection of traditional knowledge.
Contagion and the National Body: The Organism Metaphor in American Thought

Drawing on the work of George Lakoff, this book provides a detailed analysis of the organism metaphor, which draws an analogy between the national or social body and a physical body. With attention to the manner in which this metaphor conceives of various sub-groups as either beneficial or detrimental to the (social) body’s overall functioning, the author examines the use of this metaphor to view marginalized sub-populations as invasive or contagious entities that need to be treated in the same way as harmful bacteria or pathogens. Analyzing the organism metaphor as it was employed in the service of social injustice through the nineteenth and twentieth centuries in the United States, Contagion and the National Body focuses on the alarm eras of the restrictive immigration period (1890–1924), the agitation against Chinese and Japanese populations on the West Coast, the eugenic period’s targeting of feeble-minded persons and other "defectives," periods of anti-Semitism, the anti-Communist movements, and various forms of racial animosity against African-Americans.
The strategic presentation of user comments affects how political messages are evaluated on social media sites: Evidence for robust effects across party lines

Abstract This online experiment examines how partisan cues interact with features of newer media to affect how people evaluate political messages online. Specifically, we examine the degree to which obscuring the political affiliations of different online sources can influence how viewers evaluate the political messages they share through social media. We also examine how viewers evaluate political organizations that appear to strategically suppress comments that accompany their political posts. The results indicate that viewers were more trusting and more likely to endorse political messages, the less they perceived that political organizations were strategically controlling comments and the less they believed that the commenters were affiliated with a political organization; notably, these effects were robust across the political spectrum. Theoretical implications for warranting theory and practical implications for evaluating messages shared online are discussed.
Rest-Based Concussion Management of Pediatric Emergency Medicine Providers.

Objectives This study aimed to survey pediatric emergency medicine (PEM) providers on their management of 2 hypothetical acute concussion scenarios. We hypothesized that most providers would recommend a management strategy based on cognitive and physical rest. Methods Fifty-nine percent (46/78) of PEM providers that were surveyed completed the study. The survey consisted of 2 clinical scenarios-a female patient with a mild concussion and a male patient with a moderate concussion. Practitioners were asked questions regarding how they would hypothetically manage these patients in terms of recommendations for returning to school and returning to sports. Results Eighty-six percent of providers recommended moderate time off from school for the moderate concussion scenario compared with 67% of providers in the mild concussion scenario (P = 0.008). In regard to return to sports, all providers recommended moderate time off in both scenarios, including 78% of providers who recommended clearance by a physician in the moderate concussion scenario. Conclusions In both of our hypothetical concussion scenarios, including a very mild head injury, most PEM providers surveyed recommended a management strategy that included a moderate degree of a delay of return to school and sports. Given recent evidence suggesting that prolonged rest does not reduce the risk of prolonged concussion symptoms, recommendations of periods of cognitive rest, particularly absences from school, should be approached cautiously. Future studies should examine why providers are recommending rest-based treatment strategies and the potential benefits of active rehabilitation.
Ranking sires using genetic selection indices based on financial investment methods versus lifetime net merit

ABSTRACT Current USDA selection indices such as lifetime net merit (NM$) estimate lifetime profit differences, which are accurately approximated by a linear combination of 13 traits. In these indices, every animal gets credit for 2.78 lactations of the traits expressed per lactation, such as fat and protein, independent of its productive life (PL). This formulation may over- or underestimate the net revenue from traits expressed per lactation depending on PL. The objectives were to develop 2 genetic selection indices using financial investment methods to account for differences in PL and to compare them with the 2017 NM$ for marketed Holstein sires. Selection among animals with different PL is an example of investment in mutually exclusive projects that have unequal duration. Financial investment theory says that such projects are best compared with the annualized net present value (ANPV) method when replacement occurs with technologically equal assets. However, genetic progress implies that future available replacement animals are technologically improved assets. Asset replacement theory with improved assets results in an annualized value including genetic opportunity cost (AVOC) for each animal. We developed the ANPV and AVOC and compared these with the NM$ for 1,500 marketed Holstein sires from the December 2017 genetic evaluation. The lowest Pearson correlation coefficient was 0.980 between AVOC and NM$, whereas the highest was 0.999 between ANPV and NM$ among the 1,500 sires. Correlations for the top 300 sires were lower. Although we found high correlations between indices, the 95th and 5th percentiles of individual rank changes between AVOC and NM$ were +131 and −163 positions, respectively, whereas these changes between ANPV and NM$ were +27 and −45 positions, respectively. The relative emphasis of PL in the AVOC index was half of the relative emphasis in NM$. These results show that applying financial investment methods to value differences in genetic merit of animals changes their rankings compared with the NM$ formulation. Rank changes were meaningful enough that the new indices warrant consideration for use in practice.
Interdisciplinary palliative care for people with advanced Parkinson’s disease: a view from the home

Background: Advanced Parkinson’s disease (PD) is a multidimensional neurodegenerative condition with motor and non-motor symptoms contributing to increasing disability and decreasing quality of life. As the disease progresses, patients may become homebound and estranged from neurological care, with dire consequences. We describe the increasing epidemiologic burden of and individual risks faced by patients with palliative-stage PD and their caregivers. Methods: With the aim of mitigating these risks, we designed and iterated two models of interdisciplinary home visits to maintain continuity of care and illuminate the unmet needs and barriers to care faced by this population. We describe both models in detail, with data on feasibility and patient-centered outcomes achieved in the initial model, and baseline characteristics of participants in the ongoing expanded model. Finally, we illustrate the scope and common themes of such palliative care-informed home visits with two cases. Results: The pilot model involved over 380 visits with 109 individual patients. Among those patients, PD severity worsened by nearly 12 points annually on the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale (UPDRS), without a corresponding decline in quality of life. In an ongoing study of the second iteration of the model, 52 patient-caregiver dyads have completed their initial visit, with 44% bearing a diagnosis of dementia and the majority requiring an assistive device or being bedbound. Two cases highlight the critical importance of thorough medication reconciliation and home safety assessment in the comprehensive evaluation and management of such patients. Conclusions: As our population ages, therapies increase, and the number of individuals living with advanced PD and related disorders grows, so too does the imperative to recognize and address the palliative care needs of such patients and families. For many, home may be a viable, and perhaps optimal, site for this care.
The shape of avian eggs: Assessment of a novel metric for quantifying eggshell conicality

Studying the avian egg, its shape, and other aspects of its morphology, has recently undergone a renaissance. Yet most studies rely solely on 2, albeit multicomponent, metrics for the quantification of egg shape: elongation and asymmetry. The difficulty of quantifying an additional trait, the curvature, of an eggshell has yielded many attempts, including several with complex equations or spatial modeling techniques based on digitized images. Yet most of these approaches have lacked an independent single-variable metric, hampering comparative studies especially. We propose a metric for one common quality of egg shape, conicality, which is notably variable across different species' calcareous shells, including shorebirds and non-avian theropods. This metric utilizes multiple measurements of the slope along an egg's profile to produce a distribution of angular measurements, which can be analyzed with a kurtosis value. We tested this metric with sets of computer-generated and 3-dimensional-printed egg forms, where elongation, the percentage of conicality, and the relative curvature of the shell profile were systematically manipulated. For applicability to natural eggs and their diversity across taxa, the kurtosis value was used to quantify the gradient of conicality across a focal avian family, Alcidae, where the extreme ranges of kurtosis values successfully identified eggs qualitatively described as most conical in previous studies. Given the significance of egg morphology and profile curvature to eggshells' structural integrity, surface area-to-volume ratio, mobility/stability, nesting behavior, embryonic development, and individual recognition, our proposed measure of conicality could prove a useful variable to the study of avian and non-avian egg-producing species.LAY SUMMARYAvian eggs are shaped in diverse ways and the form of bird's eggshell can be influenced by its nesting requirements, parenting strategies and flight abilities.Most previous studies used only 2 metrics to study avian egg shape: (1) the width-to-length ratio and (2) the position along its length where the widest part of the egg is located (asymmetry).We propose a novel metric (conicality) for quantifying how straight/curved the profile of an eggshell is between its outermost dimensions by assessing how much either half of the profile resembles a cone.The novel conicality measure was also applied to a group of closely related birds with eggs that ranged from more elliptical to more conical. This new conicality metric successfully predicted the relative level of curvature known from casual observations of each species, which supports the method's validity.
The Development of 21st-Century e-Learning Module Assessment Tool.

The emergence of 21st-century skills convinced educational institutions in modifying teaching styles, which lead to the introduction of blended, flipped, and personalized learning. Studies demonstr...
Testing the waters: An investigation of the impact of hot tubbing on experts from referral through testimony.

OBJECTIVE The present research examined whether concurrent expert testimony ("hot tubbing") and court-appointed testimony reduced adversarial allegiance in clinical experts' judgments compared with traditional adversarial expert testimony. HYPOTHESES We predicted Hypothesis 1: Defense experts would render more not responsible judgments and lower ratings of criminal responsibility than would prosecution experts; Hypothesis 2: Adversarial allegiance effects on experts' judgments would be heightened for adversarial experts and attenuated for concurrent experts over time; Hypothesis 3: Adversarial and concurrent experts would report higher dissonance than would court-appointed experts and adversarial experts' ratings would increase over time, concurrent experts' ratings would decrease, and court-appointed experts' ratings would remain unchanged. METHOD Clinicians and advanced clinical doctoral students conducted simulated criminal responsibility evaluations for the prosecution, defense, or court. We categorized participants as favoring the prosecution or defense based on their preexisting attitudes and randomly assigned them to the adversarial, concurrent, or court-appointed expert testimony conditions. Participants completed a dichotomous responsibility judgment, strength of responsibility ratings, and cognitive dissonance measure after initial evidence review (n = 93), report completion (n = 52), and testimony (n = 48). Concurrent experts generated a joint report outlining areas of agreement and disagreement before providing testimony. RESULTS Concurrent testimony did not eliminate adversarial allegiance. Adversarial and concurrent experts' perceptions of responsibility did not significantly differ (d = .04, 95% CI [-.64, .71]) or change over time (ηp2 = .03); however, prosecution experts-across testimony types-rated the defendant as significantly more responsible than did defense experts (d = 1.87, 95% CI [1.06, 2.67]). Concurrent and adversarial experts did not differ in their reports and minimally differed in testimony content. CONCLUSIONS Experts who initially favored the prosecution or defense showed adversarial allegiance regardless of expert testimony method, and we observed no attenuation of this bias over the course of their case involvement. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved).
Game Theoretic Control of Thermal Loads in Demand Response Aggregators

This paper presents a game theoretic control strategy for optimal thermal load management of multiple buildings in a demand response aggregator. The electricity cost of the aggregator consists of two parts: an energy charge and a demand cost, the latter based on the aggregate peak demand over a billing horizon. We propose a non-cooperative game framework where an internal pricing mechanism is imposed with a Shapley value-based function to distribute the demand charge among the players. A Nash equilibrium problem is formulated and then transformed into a system of nonlinear equation solving problem based on the Nikaido-Isoda function. A generalized Newton-based algorithm is developed to find a Nash equilibrium of the formulated game. Simulation tests were carried out for a six-building aggregator to evaluate the performance of the proposed control strategy along with three baseline control methods. Test results showed that the proposed strategy could result in performance very close to the social optimum, with the Price of Anarchy of 1.002. The alliance stability could also be achieved in the test results.
Lyman-Alpha Galaxies in 1988

Lyman — α emission dominates the UV spectra of the roughly 18 radio galaxies observed to date with z > 1.6. I discuss three categories of such objects; (a) “normal”, large and distant radio galaxies with developed continuum structures, often aligned with the radio source, (b) 2–3 “blobbier”, less symmetric objects with weaker continua, but still showing strong Ly α in a large cloud-these are likely to be galaxies in formation such as 3C 326.1, and (c) the few known rare radio-quiet companions to QSO’s with fairly strong Ly α. I discuss their structures, possible ionization sources and relevant star-formation-rates (for those objects in which photoionization by hot stars plausibly dominates). I will also comment on the observed or anticipated extrinsic spectral phenomena which may make distant (z > 2.5) Ly — α galaxies useful probes of intervening diffuse cosmic matter. Finally I close with a few remarks on the ages of the stars in the “coldest” distant stellar systems; these suggest z f ≃ 5 as a lower bound to the epoch of initial star formation in at least a few large galaxies.
β-glucans - Brewer's bane, dietician's delight

Identification of the enzyme that synthesizes a polysaccharide in plant cell walls will allow manipulation of grasses to enhance their utility as food, feed, and fuel.
Introduction to Mathematical Statistics

This is the seventh edition of a textbook in mathematical statistics designed to cover a one- or two-semester course. The level of difficulty is aimed for advanced undergraduates or master's-level ...
Unified Parkinson's Disease Rating Scale-Motor Exam: inter-rater reliability of advanced practice nurse and neurologist assessments.

Aim This paper is a report of a study to establish the inter-rater reliability of advanced practice nurse and neurologist neurological assessments which included ratings with the Unified Parkinson’s Disease Rating Scale-Motor Exam.
Bottleneck and Queuing Analysis: Calibrating Volume–Delay Functions of Travel Demand Models

This paper discusses the link performance functions used in travel demand models with a focus on the strengths and weaknesses of the most commonly used volume-delay functions. These include the Bureau of Public Roads function, the conical delay function, Highway Capacity Manual procedures, and the Akcelik function. Improvements to the volume-delay functions used in travel demand models are of particular importance in light of the increased emphasis on reliable speed outputs to support air quality initiatives, improved accessibility measures for various submodels, and the desire to evaluate a broader range of policy issues. One of the key challenges that analysts face in the development of locally calibrated volume-delay functions is how best to represent the regime in which the volume—or, more aptly stated, the demand—exceeds capacity, a regime that cannot be directly observed, even though it is required for highway assignment. This paper explores the use of freeway detector data along with bottleneck and...
One Piece of the Puzzle: A Private Right to Your Image in the Digital Age

This essay argues for the creation of a right in one’s image for those up to and including the age of twenty-one. The right, which is justified by the pernicious persistence of digital media over time and space, would allow right holders to prohibit distribution of media artifacts – audio, still image, and video files – that include their image or voice. It is designed akin to moral rights in copyright, and as such is not exploitable for profit as such, but instead allows for those whose images are embedded in digital media to halt distribution or display of those files. Combined with other societal responses to the persistence of digital media, including shifting social norms and additional legal responses, the image right would form one piece of the puzzle designed to mitigate the harshness of life for young people in today’s world.
Race/Ethnicity and Stop-and-Frisk: Past, Present, Future

Scholarly debates surrounding stop-and-frisk typically assess the effectiveness and lawfulness of stop-and-frisk. Notwithstanding these efforts, recent reviews have excluded some recent research that addresses its impact on racial and ethnic immigrants. Understanding how the practice of stop-and-frisk affects racial and ethnic immigrants is worth including in reviews of these policies, considering the recent growth of research involving crime and immigrants that largely finds that immigration does not result in higher levels of crime. This review includes recent work showing that overall enforcement – stops and arrests – is higher in immigrant communities despite their lower levels of criminal involvement and recent work exploring differences among first-generation and second-generation immigrants in perceptions of police stops. Finally, some suggestions for the future of stop-and-frisk research are considered.
Van Allen Probes show that the inner radiation zone contains no MeV electrons: ECT/MagEIS data

We present Van Allen Probe observations of electrons in the inner radiation zone. The measurements were made by the Energetic Particle, Composition, and Thermal Plasma/Magnetic Electron Ion Spectrometer (MagEIS) sensors that were designed to measure electrons with the ability to remove unwanted signals from penetrating protons, providing clean measurements. No electrons >900 keV were observed with equatorial fluxes above background (i.e., >0.1 el/(cm2 s sr keV)) in the inner zone. The observed fluxes are compared to the AE9 model and CRRES observations. Electron fluxes <200 keV exceeded the AE9 model 50% fluxes and were lower than the higher-energy model fluxes. Phase space density radial profiles for 1.3 ≤ L* < 2.5 had mostly positive gradients except near L*~2.1, where the profiles for μ = 20–30 MeV/G were flat or slightly peaked. The major result is that MagEIS data do not show the presence of significant fluxes of MeV electrons in the inner zone while current radiation belt models and previous publications do.
“Education Is My Mother and Father”: The “Invisible” Women of Sudan

Education plays a significant role in informing the way people develop gender values, identities, relationships, and stereotypes. The education of refugees, however, takes place in multiple and diverse settings. Drawing on a decade of field research in Kenya, Sudan, Uganda, and North America, I examine the promises and challenges of education for refugees and argue that southern Sudanese refugee women and girls experience gendered and unequal access to education in protracted refugee sites such as the Kakuma refugee camp, as well as in resettled destinations such as Massachusetts. Many of these refugees, who are commonly referred to as the “lost boys and girls,” did not experience schooling in the context of a stable family life; that is why they often reiterate the Sudanese proverb, “Education is my mother and father.” I argue that tertiary education is crucial because it promotes self-reliance. It enables refugees, particularly women, to gain knowledge, voice, and skills which will give them access to better employment opportunities and earnings and thus enhance their equality and independence. Indeed, education provides a context within which to understand and make visible the changing nature of gender relationships of power.
Human α1,3/4 Fucosyltransferases

An analysis of the acceptor substrate specificity of domain swap mutants of human alpha1,3/4-fucosyltransferases (FucTs) III and V has been carried out. The results demonstrate that changing Asp336 of FucT III to Ala (as in FucT V) produced a protein (III/V1) with a reduced activity with a variety of acceptors. An analysis of the kinetic properties of FucT III and the III/V1 mutant demonstrated that III/V1 had a 40-fold reduction in its affinity for the H-type 1 acceptor substrate (Fucalpha1,2Galbeta1,3GlcNAc) and 4-fold reduction in its affinity for GDP-fucose when compared with FucT III. Further, the overall catalytic efficiency of III/V1 was approximately 100-fold lower than that of FucT III with an H-type 1 acceptor substrate. The complementary domain swap resulting from the change of Ala349 of FucT V to Asp (V/III1) produced a FucT that had higher enzyme activity with a range of acceptor substrates and had a higher affinity for an H-type 2 acceptor substrate (Fucalpha1, 2Galbeta1,4GlcNAc) with an 8-fold higher overall catalytic efficiency than that of FucT V. No significant change occurred in the Km for GDP-fucose for this protein when compared with FucT V. Kinetic parameters of two other FucT domain swaps (III8/V and V8/III), resulting in proteins that differed from FucT III and V at the NH2 terminus of their catalytic domain, were not significantly different from those of the parental enzymes when H-type 1 and H-type 2 acceptor substrates were utilized. Thus, substitution of an acidic amino acid for a nonpolar amino acid (i.e. Asp versus Ala) at the COOH terminus of FucTs produces an enzyme with enhanced enzyme activities. These results, together with the results presented in the accompanying papers (Nguyen, A. T., Holmes, E. H., Whitaker, J. M., Ho, S., Shetterly, S., and Macher, B. A. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 25244-25249; Sherwood, A. L., Nguyen, A. T., Whitaker, J. M., Macher, B. A., and Holmes, E. H. (1998) J. Biol. Chem. 273, 25256-25260), provide new insights into the structure/function relationships of human alpha1,3/4-FucT enzymes.
Coarticulation of lip rounding.

We investigated the extent of coarticulation of lip rounding in selected speech strings. Meaningful sentences containing sequences of one to four consonants preceding the vowel /u/ were constructed...
Temperature effects on electron transfer within intervalence bis(hydrazine) radical cations

Analyses of the shape of intervalence charge-transfer bands at various temperatures (255−325 K in most cases) in acetonitrile are reported for the radical cations of bis(2-tert-butyl-2,3-diazabicyclo[2.2.2]oct-3-yl) hydrazines that are bridged by 2,5-xylene-1,4-diyl (2^+), durene-1,4-diyl (3^+), naphthalene-1,4-diyl (4^+), biphenyl-4,4‘-diyl (5^+), and 9,9-dimethylfluorene-2,7-diyl (6^+) aromatic rings. Electron-transfer (ET) rate constants measured by ESR as a function of temperature are reported for 4^+−6^+. Despite the fact that the ET barriers for these compounds are dominated by vibrational reorganization, explicit inclusion of vibronic coupling effects is not necessary for the prediction of their ET rate constants from the optical spectra. Rate constants in excellent agreement with the measured ones are predicted by a classical analysis of charge-transfer band shape, if the diabatic surfaces are changed from the usual assumption that they are parabolas to ones that fit the shape of the charge-transfer bands.
DuMont: The original fourth television network

L'ingenieur et entrepreneur americain Allen Balcom DuMont developpa avec succes des les annees trente la production de tubes cathodiques et d'oscillographes, entre autres. L'A. retrace la partie de son activite industrielle consacree a la television. Apres avoir commercialise ses recepteurs de television, DuMont fut un pionnier de la production audiovisuelle en developpant un reseau de stations et de programmes televises qui concurrenca les trois grands groupes de medias CBS, NBC et ABC. Le declin de ce reseau, puis la dispersion des affaires de DuMont dans les annees soixante sont analyses dans cet article en examinant le contexte du marche de l'epoque, le handicap constitue par l'absence de soutien d'un media radiophonique et le role joue par la politique gouvernementale en matiere d'audiovisuel, a travers la Commission Federale des Communications
Transesophageal echocardiographic diagnosis of right atrial thrombi associated with the antiphospholipid syndrome

Thromboembolic disorders are a hallmark of the antiphospholipid antibody syndrome. We describe a patient with IgM antiphospholipid antibodies associated with pulmonary emboli and in situ thrombosis within an otherwise normal right atrium. Echocardiography, particularly the transesophageal study, proved invaluable in providing a diagnosis and guiding our patient's evaluation and treatment.
Inference in Two-Phase Regression

Abstract Procedures are outlined for obtaining maximum likelihood estimates and likelihood confidence regions in the intersecting two-phase linear regression model. The procedures are illustrated on a small set of data, and the distributional properties are examined empirically.
Radiation from intense-laser-stabilized states of hydrogen

Metastable states of atomic hydrogen in an ideal linearly polarized laser have been shown to exist. These states, in the laboratory frame, have the electron oscillating with a large amplitude. The electron will radiate both even and odd harmonics of the laser frequency at a rate calculated here. The electron may also radiate nonharmonic radiation, thereby leaving the atom in an excited state. This process contributes to the width of the ground state. Both processes are evaluated at an upper limit of intensity imposed upon the theory by the dipole approximation.
Board Oversight of Patient Care Quality in Large Nonprofit Health Systems

In hospitals and health systems, ensuring that organizational standards for patient care quality are adopted and that processes for monitoring and improving clinical services are in place are among...
Reproduction and Breeding of Goats

Reproduction and genetics of the goat are reviewed with a view of increasing their contribution to mankind. The goat contributes most in tropical regions (within 30 degrees of the equator). The most important product from the goat is milk with meat a close second. Other products are minor. Reproductive rate is a problem only with the Angora goat, but increased reproduction with any type of goat would contribute to improved efficiency. Also, a knowledge of the reproductive phenomenon is necessary for effective management. Genetic studies of goats are limited, but this should not limit improvement programs. Excellent genotypes for producing milk and fiber are available, but adaptation to tropical conditions is needed. Even within temperature regions, there is little evidence of progress in breeding for milk production. Little has been done on the development of the goat as a meat animal. Also, research on crossbreeding for milk or meat production is limited.
Teratogenicity of Phthalate Esters in Rats

In the past, it was demonstrated that small quantities of phthalates may be released from polyvinyl chloride items to physiological solutions. To ascertain the effect these plasticizers might have upon the fetus, a teratogenic study was undertaken in rats using eight phthalate esters. Six of the phthalates, whose acute intraperitoneal LD50 values were below 10 ml./kg., were administered to rats at doses representing one-tenth, one-fifth, and one-third of the acute LD50 dose on the 5th, 10th, and 15th day of gestation; the two less toxic compounds were injected at levels of 5 and 10 ml./kg. Distilled water and normal saline were tested at 10 ml./kg., and cottonseed oil was tested at 5 and 10 ml./kg. Untreated animals were used for control values. The number of corpora lutea ranged from 52 to 65 per group of five rats, with no apparent distribution according to treatment. Embryo-fetal toxicity ranged from 0% to a high of 98.2%. Fetal malformations ranged from 0 to 100%, both for gross and skeletal abnormalities, with skeletal defects generally being more common. Fetuses from all phthalate-treated groups were smaller (p ≤ 0.01) than the untreated controls. Absence of tail, anophthalmia, and twisted hind legs were the most common gross abnormalities, while elongated and fused ribs and abnormal skull bones were the most common deformities found in stained skeletal specimens.
Capillary oscillations of a drop in an electric field

Abstract The capillary oscillations of a conducting spheroidal drop with small eccentricity in an electric field are studied. The effect of the electric field is to lower the natural frequencies of oscillations and the damping coefficient.
Erratum to: Having a Say: Agency and End-of-Life Decision-making in The Chaneysville Incident

Erratum to: J Gen Intern Med DOI 10.1007/s11606-010-1384-z The opening page of the original publication should have contained the following copyright credit notice: “Excerpts (sixty-two lines) from pp. 38, 39, 40, 50, 62, 63, 430 from THE CHANEYSVILLE INCIDENT by DAVID BRADLEY, Copyright © 1981 by David H. Bradley, Jr. Reprinted by permission of HarperCollins Publishers.”
Anomalous Contraction Scour? Vertical-Contraction Case

Clear-water scour due to a short vertical (pressure flow) contraction was investigated in a laboratory channel. Two approach velocities were studied for a (nominally) single configuration of depth and degree of contraction, with experiments conducted for various durations up to a maximum of 48 h, and the evolution of the scour hole over time monitored. The location of maximum scour in both cases was observed to occur downstream of the contraction, with maximum scour depths substantially in excess of values predicted by published models, even though equilibrium scour conditions were not reached.
Steroidal regulation of uterine miRNAs is associated with modulation of the miRNA biogenesis components Exportin-5 and Dicer1

MicroRNAs (miRNAs) are small, non-coding RNA molecules which post-transcriptionally regulate gene expression. We have previously demonstrated that within the uterus, miRNA expression is under steroidal control and that disruption of Dicer1, the enzyme which generates mature miRNAs, leads to abnormalities in the development and function of the female reproductive tract. Despite the apparent importance of miRNAs and the enzymes which lead to their generation, little to no information exists on the mechanisms which regulate the expression of this system in the female reproductive tract. The objective of the current study was to examine steroidal regulation of the miRNAs biogenesis enzymes, Drosha, Dgcr8, Exportin-5 and Dicer1 in the mouse uterus. The results of this study indicate that estrogen and progesterone significantly increased Exportin-5 mRNA expression while only progesterone increased Dicer1 expression. We conclude from these studies that the miRNA biogenesis components Drosha, Dgcr8, Exportin-5 and Dicer1 are expressed in the mouse uterus and that Exportin-5 and Dicer1 appear to be the major steroid regulated components in the miRNA biogenesis pathway. These observations suggest that in addition to steroids modulating miRNA expression at the level of transcription, they may also influence miRNA expression by regulating the expression of the miRNA biogenesis components necessary for their processing to the mature cytoplasmic form.
Economic performance and political mobility: Chinese provincial leaders

Chinese provincial leaders, unlike their counterparts in a democratic system, are not elected but selected. Hence the criteria by which the center uses to select and retain provincial leaders would be critical for the political mobility of provincial leaders. As China has been a developmental state since 1949, it is not unreasonable to expect that the center would retain or promote or demote provincial leaders according to the economic performance of their provinces. To test the hypothesis, I conducted multinomial regressions with a data set of Chinese provincial leaders between 1949 and 1994 in thirty provincial units. As the results show, the political mobility of provincial leaders is determined not only by the political movements of the PRC but also by the economic performance of the provincial leaders. The worse the economic performance record the more likely the provincial leader will be demoted. Moreover, the revenue contributions of the province during the provincial leader's tenure are also a det...
Nonlinear sensing of ionic polymer metal composites

In this paper, we develop a physics-based model for the charge dynamics of ionic polymer metal composites (IPMCs) in response to mechanical deformations. The proposed chemoelectromechanical model is based on the Poisson–Nernst–Planck system that describes the evolution of the voltage field and the counterion concentration as a dynamic strain is imposed to the IPMC. We use the method of matched asymptotic expansions to find a closed form solution for the Poisson–Nernst–Planck equations and derive an equivalent nonlinear circuit model that is amenable for parametric studies. We report results for a variety of loading scenarios to gather insight into the nonlinear characteristics of IPMC electrical response and their potential application in sensors and energy harvesting devices.
Test of the adaptiveness of sex ratio manipulation in a parasitoid wasp

In behavioral ecology it is generally assumed that behavior is adaptive. This assumption is tested here for sex ratio manipulation in response to host size in the parasitoid wasp Spalangia cameroni. Females produce a greater proportion of daughters on larger hosts. If this behavior is adaptive, it is not through a positive effect of host size on the fitness of daughters, as theory suggests and as found for other species. Females that developed on larger hosts were not more successful at drilling into hosts, were not more successful at interspecific competition for hosts, and did not have greater dispersal ability as measured by wing loading (weight/area of wing and thorax). The possibility that S. cameroni's sex ratio manipulation may be adaptive through a negative effect of host size on the fitness of sons cannot be ruled out. Relative to males from larger hosts, males from smaller hosts had lower wing loading and thus potentially greater dispersal ability. The actual effect of wing loading on fitness remains to be tested.
Photoluminescence of semiconductor materials

Abstract Photoluminescence has been developed as a sensitive technique for semiconductor analysis. In this paper we review some of the basic physics necessary for interpreting photoluminescence spectra. The necessary equipment is discussed. Recent applications of photoluminescence to analysis of silicon and GaAs are covered with emphasis on impurity identification and possible analytical methods. This article is intended to be an introduction to photoluminescence with a brief review of recent literature.
Sol-gel processing in electronic packaging materials

Abstract Published works on sol-gel processes in the field of electronic packaging materials are critically reviewed. A novel application of the sol-gel process for the fabrication of low coefficient of thermal expansion (CTE) polymer matrix composite laminates has been described. The approach consists of the impregnation of glass yarns or fabrics with silica-based sol derived from metal alkoxides. After firing at ∼ 400°C, the sol-gel coatings restrict the movement of glass fibers within the yarn/fabric leading to the lowering of CTE. The sol-gel treated fabrics are subsequently impregnated with a polymer resin and laminated to single layer or multilayer laminates. In addition, the sol-gel treated fabrics were used to produce low CTE copper composite layers (to be used as a restrainer) by the plating of copper onto the gel-treated glass fabrics. Results show that the laminates produced with sol-gel treated fabrics gave CTE values lower than those obtained from the fabrics without sol-gel treatments.