cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
System design and implementation of the detector assembly for the Astro-H soft x-ray spectrometer

The soft x-ray spectrometer (SXS) onboard Astro-H presents to the science community unprecedented capability (> 7 eV at 6 keV) for high-resolution spectral measurements in the range of 0.5 – 12 keV to study extended celestial sources. At the heart of this SXS is the x-ray calorimeter spectrometer (XCS) where detectors (calorimeter array and anticoincidence detector) operate at 50 mK, the bias circuit operates at nominal 1.3 K, and the first stage amplifiers operate at 130 K, all within a nominal 20 cm envelope. The design of the detector assembly in this XCS originates from the Astro-E x-ray spectrometer (XRS) and lessons learned from Astro-E and Suzaku. After the production of our engineering model, additional changes were made in order to improve our flight assembly process for better reliability and overall performance. In this poster, we present the final design and implementation of the flight detector assembly, show comparison of parameters and performance to Suzaku’s XRS, and list susceptibilities to other subsystems as well as our lessons learned.
Structural Dynamics of Photoactive Yellow Protein Investigated by Time Resolved Serial Femtosecond Crystallography

Newest results on the investigation of the photocycle of the bacterial blue light receptor photoactive yellow protein with time-resolved serial femtosecond crystallography at the Linac Coherent Light Source are presented and discussed (Tenboer et al., 2014).Tenboer, J., Basu, S., Zatsepin, N., Pande, K., Milathianaki, D., Frank, M., Hunter, M., Boutet, S., Williams, G. J., Koglin, J. E., Oberthuer, D., Heymann, M., Kupitz, C., Conrad, C., Coe, J., Roy-Chowdhury, S., Weierstall, U., James, D., Wang, D., Grant, T., Barty, A., Yefanov, O., Scales, J., Gati, C., Seuring, C., Srajer, V., Henning, R., Schwander, P., Fromme, R., Ourmazd, A., Moffat, K., Van Thor, J. J., Spence, J. C., Fromme, P., Chapman, H. N. & Schmidt, M. (2014). Science 346, 1242-1246.
Introduction to Mindfulness: Evidence-Based Medicine Lecture and Active Session.

Introduction There is a growing body of evidence regarding the effectiveness of mindfulness practices and the benefits for the resilience of patients and medical professionals. Thus, there is a need to educate medical students in this technique and its benefits, but there are no readily available resources that emphasize the current evidence. We developed an introductory session for the mindfulness technique as an evidenced-based medicine lecture combined with an active mindfulness exercise. Methods This session consisted of a PowerPoint lecture overview of mindfulness, a topic unknown to most students, with an emphasis on evidence-based facts, as well as an active practical mindfulness exercise. The effectiveness of the lecture was assessed using a survey instrument, which was designed to assess the learners' knowledge and interest in learning and using mindfulness (before and after the session) and their interest in integrating mindfulness into the medical school curriculum. The survey contained six multiple-choice questions. Participation was voluntary and anonymous, with the use of Turning Point technology (an audience response system). Results The session was administered to and evaluated by first- and second-year medical students with no prior instruction in mindfulness. The session was held by a physician who uses mindfulness in the clinic. After the session, 90% of students were interested in learning more about mindfulness, and the majority were interested in having mindfulness integrated into the medical curriculum. Discussion The results suggest the session can be effectively used as is in other medical teaching institutions to introduce students to mindfulness and to assess students' perception of knowledge in the area and their interest in both having more comprehensive training on the subject and practicing mindfulness in medical care.
Parity Nonconservation in the 6 s 2 1 S 0 → 6 s 5 d D 3 1 Transition in Atomic Ytterbium

The ${6s}^{2}^{1}S_{0}\ensuremath{\rightarrow}6s5d^{3}D_{1}$ transition in atomic Yb is proposed for use in the study of atomic parity nonconservation (PNC). This transition is shown to have a very large $E1$ amplitude arising from PNC: $|\mathrm{Im}({E1}_{\mathrm{PNC}})|\ensuremath{\cong}1.1\ifmmode\times\else\texttimes\fi{}{10}^{\ensuremath{-}9}{\mathrm{ea}}_{0}$, and also a strongly suppressed $M1$ amplitude and a moderate Stark-induced amplitude. Extremely high-precision measurements of PNC in Yb appear possible, using experimental techniques of proven utility. Comparison of PNC in the wide range of stable isotopes of Yb may provide a unique test of the standard model of electroweak interactions.
Using Breast Cancer Risk Associated Polymorphisms to Identify Women for Breast Cancer Chemoprevention.

Background Breast cancer can be prevented with selective estrogen receptor modifiers (SERMs) and aromatase inhibitors (AIs). The US Preventive Services Task Force recommends that women with a 5-year breast cancer risk ≥3% consider chemoprevention for breast cancer. More than 70 single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) have been associated with breast cancer. We sought to determine how to best integrate risk information from SNPs with other risk factors to risk stratify women for chemoprevention. Methods We used the risk distribution among women ages 35–69 estimated by the Breast Cancer Surveillance Consortium (BCSC) risk model. We modeled the effect of adding 70 SNPs to the BCSC model and examined how this would affect how many women are reclassified above and below the threshold for chemoprevention. Results We found that most of the benefit of SNP testing a population is achieved by testing a modest fraction of the population. For example, if women with a 5-year BCSC risk of >2.0% are tested (~21% of all women), ~75% of the benefit of testing all women (shifting women above or below 3% 5-year risk) would be derived. If women with a 5-year risk of >1.5% are tested (~36% of all women), ~90% of the benefit of testing all women would be derived. Conclusion SNP testing is effective for reclassification of women for chemoprevention, but is unlikely to reclassify women with <1.5% 5-year risk. These results can be used to implement an efficient two-step testing approach to identify high risk women who may benefit from chemoprevention.
Alchemy: A web 2.0 real-time quality assurance platform for human immunodeficiency Virus, hepatitis C Virus, and BK Virus quantitation assays

Background: The molecular diagnostics laboratory faces the challenge of improving test turnaround time (TAT). Low and consistent TATs are of great clinical and regulatory importance, especially for molecular virology tests. Laboratory information systems (LISs) contain all the data elements necessary to do accurate quality assurance (QA) reporting of TAT and other measures, but these reports are in most cases still performed manually: a time-consuming and error-prone task. The aim of this study was to develop a web-based real-time QA platform that would automate QA reporting in the molecular diagnostics laboratory at our institution, and minimize the time expended in preparing these reports. Methods: Using a standard Linux, Nginx, MariaDB, PHP stack virtual machine running atop a Dell Precision 5810, we designed and built a web-based QA platform, code-named Alchemy. Data files pulled periodically from the LIS in comma-separated value format were used to autogenerate QA reports for the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) quantitation, hepatitis C virus (HCV) quantitation, and BK virus (BKV) quantitation. Alchemy allowed the user to select a specific timeframe to be analyzed and calculated key QA statistics in real-time, including the average TAT in days, tests falling outside the expected TAT ranges, and test result ranges. Results: Before implementing Alchemy, reporting QA for the HIV, HCV, and BKV quantitation assays took 45–60 min of personnel time per test every month. With Alchemy, that time has decreased to 15 min total per month. Alchemy allowed the user to select specific periods of time and analyzed the TAT data in-depth without the need of extensive manual calculations. Conclusions: Alchemy has significantly decreased the time and the human error associated with QA report generation in our molecular diagnostics laboratory. Other tests will be added to this web-based platform in future updates. This effort shows the utility of informatician-supervised resident/fellow programming projects as learning opportunities and workflow improvements in the molecular laboratory.
Shell morphology and Raman spectra of epitaxial Ge−SixGe1−x and Si−SixGe1−x core-shell nanowires

We investigate the shell morphology and Raman spectra of epitaxial Ge−SixGe1−x and Si−SixGe1−x core−shell nanowire heterostructures grown using a combination of a vapor−liquid−solid (VLS) growth mechanism for the core, followed by in-situ epitaxial shell growth using ultra-high vacuum chemical vapor deposition. Cross-sectional transmission electron microscopy reveals that the VLS growth yields cylindrical Ge, and Si nanowire cores grown along the ⟨111⟩, and ⟨110⟩ or ⟨112⟩ directions, respectively. A hexagonal cross-sectional morphology is observed for Ge-SixGe1-x core-shell nanowires terminated by six {112} facets. Two distinct morphologies are observed for Si-SixGe1-x core-shell nanowires that are either terminated by four {111} and two {100} planes associated with the ⟨110⟩ growth direction or four {113} and two {111} planes associated with the ⟨112⟩ growth direction. We show that the Raman spectra of Si- SixGe1-x are correlated with the shell morphology thanks to epitaxial growth-induced strain, with t...
The Reactivity of Adult Retardates’ Self-Monitoring: A Comparison among Behaviors of Different Valences, and a Comparison with Token Reinforcement

In Experiment 1, adult retarded male and female subjects (N=5 per group) were assigned to self-record the frequency of one of three target behaviors: talking, face-touching, or object-touching. Trained observers simultaneously recorded the frequency of these behaviors during four experimental conditions: baseline, self-recording, reinforcement, and return-to-baseline. Self-recording increased the frequency of a positively evaluated behavior (talking), but less consistently reduced the frequency of a negatively evaluated behavior (face-touching). Reinforcement increased talking and object-touching, and less consistently decreased face-touching. Reinforcement also increased the relatively good agreement between the self-recorders and the trained observers. In Experiment 2, trained observers recorded the frequency of conversation in the dining room, participation in lounge activities, and tidiness of the bedrooms of 12 adult retarded subjects during six experimental conditions: existent token economy, improved token economies 1 and 2, baselines 1 and 2, and self-recording. Self-recording was more effective in increasing the frequency of the three desirable target behaviors than was the token economy. These results were discussed in the context of other findings reported in the self-monitoring literature.
Correction to: Comparison of the Effect of Exercise on Late-Phase LTP of the Dentate Gyrus and CA1 of Alzheimer’s Disease Model

The original version of this article unfortunately does not include the second affiliating institution of Dr. Munder A. Zagaar. "Department of Pharmacy Pracce and Clinical Health Sciences, Texas Southern University, Houston, TX 77004" should have been included on the paper.
Environmental condition and monitoring

The ambient environment (i.e., weather conditions) can significantly impact one’s ability to thermoregulate, particularly when exercising in environmentally stressful conditions where an imbalance between metabolic heat production and heat dissipation from the body is not adequately regulated. Empirical, direct, and rational heat indices have been developed by scientists to gauge the degree of heat strain one may experience in a range of thermal conditions. These measures are applied in athletic, military, and occupational settings to provide guidance on physical activity and/or clothing modifications that mitigate the risk of experiencing exertional heat illness. This chapter will provide an overview of common heat indices in physical activity settings and highlight the benefits and drawbacks of each index in practical applications. Lastly, the chapter will provide a case example from the Georgia High School Association in developing a set of weather-based activity modification guidelines based on an empirical study of football players’ heat injuries.
Simulating galactic dust grain evolution on a moving mesh

Interstellar dust is an important component of the galactic ecosystem, playing a key role in multiple galaxy formation processes. We present a novel numerical framework for the dynamics and size evolution of dust grains implemented in the moving-mesh hydrodynamics code AREPO suited for cosmological galaxy formation simulations. We employ a particle-based method for dust subject to dynamical forces including drag and gravity. The drag force is implemented using a second-order semi-implicit integrator and validated using several dust-hydrodynamical test problems. Each dust particle has a grain size distribution, describing the local abundance of grains of different sizes. The grain size distribution is discretised with a second-order piecewise linear method and evolves in time according to various dust physical processes, including accretion, sputtering, shattering, and coagulation. We present a novel scheme for stochastically forming dust during stellar evolution and new methods for sub-cycling of dust physics time-steps. Using this model, we simulate an isolated disc galaxy to study the impact of dust physical processes that shape the interstellar grain size distribution. We demonstrate, for example, how dust shattering shifts the grain size distribution to smaller sizes resulting in a significant rise of radiation extinction from optical to near-ultraviolet wavelengths. Our framework for simulating dust and gas mixtures can readily be extended to account for other dynamical processes relevant in galaxy formation, like magnetohydrodynamics, radiation pressure, and thermo-chemical processes.
Above and Beyond Watson and Crick: Guanine Quadruplex Structures and Microbes

Advances in understanding mechanisms of nucleic acids have revolutionized molecular biology and medicine, but understanding of nontraditional nucleic acid conformations is less developed. The guanine quadruplex (G4) alternative DNA structure was first described in the 1960s, but the existence of G4 structures (G4-S) and their participation in myriads of biological functions are still underappreciated. Despite many tools to study G4s and many examples of roles for G4s in eukaryotic molecular processes and issues with uncontrolled G4-S formation, there is relatively little knowledge about the roles of G4-S in viral or prokaryotic systems. This review summarizes the state of the art with regard to G4-S in eukaryotes and their potential roles in human disease before discussing the evidence that G4-S have equivalent importance in affecting viral and bacterial life.
Analytic Approximation of Matrix Functions

We study in this chapter the problem of approximating an essentially bounded matrix function on 𝕋 by bounded analytic matrix functions in D. For such a matrix function Φ. ∈ L∞(𝕄 m,n ) its L∞ norm ||Φ||L∞ is, by definition, $$ {\left\| \Phi \right\|_{{L\infty }}} = ess\mathop{{\sup }}\limits_{{\zeta \in T}} {\left\| {\Phi \left( \zeta \right)} \right\|_{{{M_{{m,n}}}}}} $$ (1)
Formation and Sampling of the Retinal Image

Publisher Summary Vision begins with the formation of an optical image of the external world upon the retinal mosaic of light-sensitive photoreceptors. Because image formation is the very first step in the visual process, imperfections in the eye's optical apparatus have the potential for affecting every aspect of visual perception, from color to motion, space, and form. Even if the focusing components of the eye's optical system were perfect, the retinal image would still be degraded by the diffraction of light as it passes through the pupil. Another potential limiting factor for vision is the scattering of light as it traverses the ocular media and retina before being absorbed by the visual pigment molecules inside photoreceptors. Thus, the study of visual perception must logically begin with the imaging properties of the eye to uncover those optical factors that constrain the quality of vision. This chapter aims to succinctly review current understanding of the formation and sampling of the retinal image in the human eye and the visual limitations imposed by these initial stages of the visual process. When taken together, this neuro-optical model of the eye provides a conceptual framework for interpreting empirical studies of the optical and sampling limits to visual perception and the impact these two factors have in daily life.
Anchialine Fauna of the Galápagos Islands

From the biogeographic viewpoint, marine caves on oceanic islands represent ‘islands within islands.’ Due to the isolation and environmental stability of this habitat, such caves act as refuges, preserving primitive relict taxa. Investigations of marine caves in the Atlantic have resulted in the discovery of many higher taxa including the new crustacean class Remipedia (Yager, 1981), the new peracarid order Mictacea (Bowman and Iliffe, 1985), the new copepod order Platycopioida (Fosshagen and Iliffe, 1985), the new isopod family Atlantasellidae (Sket, 1979) and the new caridean family Agostocaridae (Hart and Manning, 1986). Unexpectedly however, the troglobitic (i.e., cave-limited) fauna of Atlantic marine caves show highly anomalous biogeographical distributions, as well as close taxonomic affinities to deep sea species. Particularly noteworthy in this regard is the fauna of the Jameos del Agua, a marine lava tube cave in the Canary Islands. Members of six crustacean genera inhabiting this cave, including the remipede Speleonectes, the anthurid isopod Curassanthura, the amphipod Spelaeonicippe, the mysid Heteromysoides, the ostracod Danielopolina, and the thermosbaenacean Halosbaena, also have species inhabiting caves on the western side of the Atlantic. This amphi-Atlantic distribution suggests that these taxa are Tethyan relics having an origin in caves early in the history of the Atlantic and subsequently dispersed by plate tectonics and sea floor spreading (Iliffe et al., 1984; Wilkens et al., 1986). Also from the same cave, the galatheid crab Munidopsis polymorpha and the polynoid polychaete Giesiella jameensis belong to groups known primarily from the deep sea.
Identification of Suppressor of Clathrin Deficiency-1 (SCD1) and Its Connection to Clathrin-Mediated Endocytosis in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Clathrin is a major coat protein involved in vesicle formation during endocytosis and transport in the endosomal/trans Golgi system. Clathrin is required for normal growth of yeast (Saccharomyces cerevisiae) and in some genetic backgrounds deletion of the clathrin heavy chain gene ( CHC1 ) is lethal. Our lab defined a locus referred to as " s uppressor of c lathrin d eficiency" ( SCD1 ). In the presence of the scd1-v allele ("v" - viable), yeast cells lacking clathrin heavy chain survive but grow slowly, are morphologically abnormal and have many membrane trafficking defects. In the presence of scd1-i ("i"- inviable), chc1∆ causes lethality. As a strategy to identify SCD1 , we used pooled linkage analysis and whole genome sequencing. Here, we report that PAL2 ( YHR097C ) is the SCD1 locus. pal2∆ is synthetic lethal with chc1∆ ; whereas a deletion of its paralog, PAL1, is not synthetic lethal with clathrin deficiency. Like Pal1, Pal2 has two NPF motifs that are potential binding sites for EH domain proteins such as the early endocytic factor Ede1, and Pal2 associates with Ede1. Also, GFP-tagged Pal2p localizes to cortical patches containing other immobile phase endocytic coat factors. Overall, our data show that PAL2 is the SCD1 locus and the Pal2 protein has characteristics of an early factor involved in clathrin-mediated endocytosis.
A FORCE-BASED SUSPENSION MODELLING APPROACH FOR VEHICLE STEADY-STATE HANDLING

This paper presents a modelling procedure for predicting steady–state cornering behaviour of four–wheeled vehicles. The method retains the simplicity and insightfulness of the traditional Kinematic Roll Centre approach, but requires less input data than multi–body simulations using commercial computer programs. The core concept of the method is to model the suspension at each wheel with its equivalent swing–arm by identifying the instant centre between each wheel and the chassis. Then, tyre contact patch forces can be decomposed into two force components, one normal to this swing arm which causes suspension deflection, and the other along the swing arm which transfers directly to the chassis. Using these force components, true chassis positions can be resolved, and accurate tyre forces predicted. The key advantages of this approach are (1) the contribution of lateral loads to chassis heave is included, (2) a more accurate load transfer prediction results, (3) higher–order tyre effects, such as camber thrust, can be included, and (4) accurate predictions are possible at high Levels of lateral acceleration. Significant insight into suspension behaviour also results from studies using this approach. The method presented in this paper is compared with the traditional Kinematic Roll Centre approach, and the effects of suspension design on chassis roll and heave are discussed.
Programmed Cell Death in the Evolutionary Race against Bacterial Virulence Factors

Innate immune sensors can recognize when host cells are irrevocably compromised by pathogens, and in response can trigger programmed cell death (pyroptosis, apoptosis, and necroptosis). Innate sensors can directly bind microbial ligands; for example, NAIP/NLRC4 detects flagellin/rod/needle, whereas caspase-11 detects lipopolysaccharide. Other sensors are guards that monitor normal function of cellular proteins; for instance, pyrin monitors Rho GTPases, whereas caspase-8 and receptor-interacting protein kinase (RIPK)3 guards RIPK1 transcriptional signaling. Some proteins that need to be guarded can be duplicated as decoy domains, as seen in the integrated decoy domains within NLRP1 that watch for microbial attack. Here, we discuss the evolutionary battle between pathogens and host innate immune sensors/guards, illustrated by the Red Queen hypothesis. We discuss in depth four pathogens, and how they either fail in this evolutionary race (Chromobacterium violaceum, Burkholderia thailandensis), or how the evolutionary race generates increasingly complex virulence factors and host innate immune signaling pathways (Yersinia species, and enteropathogenic Escherichia coli [EPEC]).
Predicting Global Trend of Cybersecurity on Continental Honeynets Using Vector Autoregression

The deployment of honeynets from around world is intended to lure attackers into their networks and hence their footprint can be extracted and studied. This global trend can be correlated based on publicly available statistics. This paper proposes a statistical analysis to identify a geospatial and temporal patterns in the cyberattacks and use this knowledge to predict future attack trend. Using a publicly available honeypot data, this work aims to (i) incroporate long range dependence in the analysis of the number of cyber-attacks, which may be a result of spread of malware agents, (ii) propose a measure on how to determine whether or not to consider dependence structure between different honeypot hosts, and (iii) establish a modeling tool that would be intuitive in a honeynet, where honeypot hosts are closely connected and related. The proposed vector autoregression approach reveals the dependencies among honeypots.
Women's empowerment and child nutrition: The role of intrinsic agency

Abstract Women's empowerment is associated with improved child nutrition, and both underpin the achievement of multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We examined pathways by which women's empowerment influences child nutritional status. We pooled nationally representative data from Demographic and Health Surveys (2011–2016) collected from married women with children aged 6–24 months in Ethiopia, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda (n = 13,780). We operationalized child nutritional status using anemia, height-for-age z-score (HAZ), and weight-for-age z-score (WHZ). We operationalized women's empowerment using a validated measure comprised of three latent domains: social/human assets (“assets”), intrinsic agency (attitudes about intimate partner violence), and instrumental agency (influence in household decision making). We used structural equation models with latent constructs to estimate hypothesized pathways from women's empowerment to child nutritional status with further mediation by maternal body mass index (BMI) and stratification by wealth. Women's empowerment domains were directly and positively associated with maternal BMI (estimate±SE: assets, 0.17 ± 0.03; intrinsic agency, 0.23 ± 0.03; instrumental agency, 0.03 ± 0.01). Maternal BMI was directly and positively associated with child HAZ (0.08 ± 0.04) and child WHZ (0.35 ± 0.03). Assets were indirectly associated with child HAZ and WHZ through intrinsic agency and maternal BMI. In the lowest wealth category, the direct effects from women's empowerment to child nutritional status were significant (assets and instrumental agency were associated with anemia; intrinsic agency associated with HAZ). In the highest wealth category, direct effects from women's empowerment on child nutritional status were significant (intrinsic and instrumental agency associated with WHZ). Improving women's empowerment, especially intrinsic agency, in East Africa could improve child nutrition directly and via improved maternal nutrition. These findings suggest that efforts to realize SDG 5 may have spillover effects on other SDGs. However, strategies to improve nutrition through empowerment approaches may need to also address household resource constraints.
An Analytical Framework for Planning Minimum Viable Products

For early-stage high-tech startups, Minimum Viable Products are the most important artifacts for both business development and product development. In an entrepreneurial journey with build–measure–learn loops, startups need to be certain about what they learn to be closer to a product–market fit. Grounded from insights of 40 active digital startups, we proposed the 6W3H framework that captures a comprehensive set of context factors for developing an MVP. The framework represents an effectual MVP development with the relationships among the existing competence (Who question), business ideas (Why question) and current customers (For Whom questions), MVP’s features (What to build question), Startup metrics (What to measure question), and the development processes and practices (How questions). We demonstrate how 6W3H framework can be used for visualizing startup development, supporting decision-making, and mitigating product risks. The benefits of using the framework are highlighted when MVPs associating with significant uncertainty and fast-changing requirements and team resources.
Does evaluating belief prior to its retraction influence the efficacy of later corrections

News stories unfold over time, with initial reports sometimes containing mistaken accounts of the newsworthy outcome that are ultimately revised or corrected. Because facts associated with newswort...
Expeller-pressed and solvent-extracted Pongamia seedcake as a protein supplement for cattle consuming a basal diet of forage

Abstract Three studies were conducted evaluating expeller-pressed (EKC) or solvent-extracted (SKC) Pongamia seedcake (PSC) as protein supplements for beef cattle. To determine palatability, EKC or SKC were mixed with wheat middlings (WM) at 200, 400, or 600 g/kg, and offered to seven steers in a 7 × 7 Latin square. Solvent-extracted PSC was more palatable than EKC, and could be included at up to 400 g/kg of supplement without negatively affecting consumption; EKC could be included at 200 g/kg without significantly decreasing extent or rate of consumption compared to control. However, inclusion of both EKC and SKC resulted in linear (P 0.05) between 200EKC (4.71 kg/d) or 400SKC (4.88 kg/d), but both were less (P
A comparison of sugar-tong and volar–dorsal splints for provisional immobilization of distal radius fractures in the adult population

Distal radius fractures are extremely common injuries affecting a wide range of patient demographics. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the outcomes of distal radius fractures managed initially with closed reduction and immobilization in either a below elbow volar–dorsal splint versus sugar-tong splint prior to conversion into a short arm cast. We performed a retrospective study of patients with distal radius fractures placed in a sugar-tong (n = 45) and volar–dorsal splint (n = 36). Anteroposterior and lateral radiographs were evaluated immediately after closed reduction and placement into either a sugar-tong or volar–dorsal splint. The radial inclination, radial length, volar tilt, and intra-articular displacement were measured. The average age was not significantly different between groups (Diff: 1.1 years, P = 0.8766). Initial clinic follow-up radiographs illustrated significantly lower radial inclination in the sugar-tong group than volar–dorsal group (17.1 vs. 19, P = 0.0443). Follow-up mean radial length was not significantly lower in the sugar-tong than volar–dorsal group (8.4 vs. 9.2, P = 0.0858). Palmar tilt and articular step-off was not significantly different between splint types. The loss of reduction was 28.8% for the sugar-tong and 25.0% for the volar–dorsal group (P = 0.696). Our results did not demonstrate a significant difference in loss of reduction rates between the two splint groups. There was no significant difference between the sugar-tong and volar–dorsal groups in terms of loss of radial length and volar tilt. Loss of reduction was similar between groups suggesting no advantage of a volar–dorsal splint compared to a sugar-tong splint. Therapeutic level III.
Impact of Fellows-as-Teachers Workshops on Teaching Rounds: An Observational Study in an ICU.

During training, fellows serve as teachers and role models for junior colleagues. Fellows-as-teachers curricula may support these roles, but little is known about their effectiveness and durability. We sought to measure the long-term effects on ICU rounds after administering fellows-as-teachers workshops. Design Prospective pre-/postintervention observational study of ICU rounds. Setting Tertiary-care medical ICU with both pulmonary critical care and critical care medicine fellowships. Subjects ICU teaching teams. Interventions Fellows attended immersive workshops on promoting clinical reasoning, managing the learning environment, teaching bedside skills, and developing situational awareness on ICU rounds. After the workshops, faculty physicians were encouraged to have fellows routinely lead afternoon rounds. Measurements and main results We gathered data from direct observations of ICU rounding activities, residents' evaluations of rounds from surveys, and faculty physicians' written comments on fellows' performance in the ICU from end-of-rotation evaluations. Data were analyzed using descriptive statistics, nonparametric comparative tests, and chi-square tests for categorical data. A total of 61 ICU rounding sessions were observed with 501 discrete provider-patient interactions. Survey responses were collected from a total of 53 residents preintervention and 34 residents postintervention. We reviewed 72 open-ended faculty comments on fellows' end-of-rotation evaluations, with 22 occurring postintervention. During the postintervention period, fellows were significantly more likely to make clinical decisions, explain their reasoning, provide teaching points, and ask questions on rounds. Additionally, we observed significantly higher quality written feedback on end-of-rotation evaluations by faculty physicians. However, residents generally harbored neutral or negative perceptions about the educational value of fellow-led rounds postintervention. Conclusions Fellows' contributions to patient care and teaching on ICU rounds increased for several months after our fellows-as-teachers workshops. Despite limitations and contamination in our design, our data suggest that similarly designed curricula may promote fellow engagement, possibly at the expense of residents' education.
Social networking for social capital: the declining value of presence for trusting with age

Interactions among citizens have been declining in America for more than 50 years. Generalised trust has also declined starkly, as a measure that depends upon social contact. The present study inve...
Does Acquisition by Non‐U.S. Shareholders Cause U.S. Firms to Pay Less Tax?

The U.S. corporate tax revenue implications for foreign‐domiciled firms acquiring U.S. companies is an important and longstanding tax policy issue. This study attempts to provide some empirical underpinning for this controversial debate. We compare actual corporate taxable income before and after their 1996 acquisitions for 31 matched pairs of firms, half acquired by foreign‐controlled companies and half acquired by American‐controlled firms. Contrary to claims that foreign‐controlled firms pay less tax, we find no evidence that taxable income declines more after a non‐U.S. shareholder acquires a U.S.‐domiciled firm than after a U.S. shareholder acquires a U.S.‐domiciled firm.
Biomechanical effect of selective osteotomy and corticotomy on orthodontic molar uprighting.

Introduction Uprighting mesially tipped molars is often a necessary step before implant placement. However, the orthodontic treatment can be lengthy and discourage patients from choosing implant prostheses. Periodontally accelerated osteogenic orthodontics is reported to facilitate molar movements. This study aimed to evaluate the biomechanical effects of various corticotomy and osteotomy approaches on the uprighting of a mesially tipped mandibular second molar in a 3-dimensional finite element analysis model. Methods The initial tooth displacement and periodontal ligament (PDL) strain in 9 finite element analysis models with various corticotomy and osteotomy simulations were compared under 3 intended tooth movement scenarios: distal crown tipping, mesial root movement with restraints, and mesial root movement without restraints. Results Corticotomy or osteotomy approaches altered the tooth displacement and the PDL strain in all 3 intended molar uprighting scenarios. The 2 most extensive surgical approaches, the combined mesial and distal osteotomy with horizontal corticotomy and the circumferential corticotomy at root apex level, resulted in increased tooth movement but had a distinct impact on PDL strain. Conclusions It was revealed that different combinations of corticotomy and osteotomy had a biomechanical impact on orthodontic molar uprighting movements.
Review of Feedlot Pathology

The term, bovine respiratory disease (BRD), is commonly used but has no specific meaning other than to describe a broad concept of various respiratory dysfunctions. Generally, respiratory disease can be classified as bronchial, interstitial, or metastatic pneumonias [1]. These categories include most types of respiratory disease that can be identified but obviously exclude some of the less commonly observed occurrences such as necrotic laryngitis and tumors.
High-Fat High-Sugar Diet-Induced Changes in the Lipid Metabolism Are Associated With Increased COVID-19 Disease Severity and Delayed Recovery in the Syrian Hamster

Pre-existing comorbidities such as obesity or metabolic diseases can adversely affect the clinical outcome of COVID-19. Chronic metabolic disorders are globally on the rise and often a consequence of an unhealthy diet, referred to as a Western Diet. For the first time in the Syrian hamster model, we demonstrate the detrimental impact of a continuous high-fat high-sugar diet on COVID-19 outcome. We observed increased weight loss and lung pathology, such as exudate, vasculitis, hemorrhage, fibrin, and edema, delayed viral clearance and functional lung recovery, and prolonged viral shedding. This was accompanied by an increased trend of systemic IL-10 and IL-6, as well as a dysregulated serum lipid response dominated by polyunsaturated fatty acid-containing phosphatidylethanolamine, recapitulating cytokine and lipid responses associated with severe human COVID-19. Our data support the hamster model for testing restrictive or targeted diets and immunomodulatory therapies to mediate the adverse effects of metabolic disease on COVID-19. Funding Information: This research was supported by the Intramural Research Program of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases (NIAID), National Institutes of Health (NIH). Declaration of Interests: The authors declare no competing financial interests. Ethics Approval Statement: Approval of animal experiments was obtained from the Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee of the Rocky Mountain Laboratories. Performance of experiments was done following the guidelines and basic principles in the United States Public Health Service Policy on Humane Care and Use of Laboratory Animals and the Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals. Work with infectious SARS-CoV-2 strains under BSL3 conditions was approved by the Institutional Biosafety Committee (IBC). Inactivation and removal of samples from high containment was performed per IBC-approved standard operating procedures.
DNA Organization, Interactions and Dynamics in Viruses: New Insights from Raman and Ultraviolet Resonance Raman Investigations

The encapsidation within a protein shell (capsid) of a viral nucleic acid, whether single-stranded (ss) or double-stranded (ds), serves to protect the genome from enzymatic degradation and other insults. The viral DNA may be packaged in a highly condensed state, as in many icosahedral dsDNA viruses, or in an uncondensed state, as in the filamentous ssDNA viruses. In the former case, which includes herpesviruses, adenoviruses and bacteriophages P 22 and PRD 1, the packaging of dsDNA requires cocondensation of basic factors (cations or amines) to neutralize electrostatic repulsions of the densely packed DNA phosphates. In the latter case, which includes the filamentous bacterial viruses fd and Pf 1, the ssDNA chain is more highly extended, facilitating intimate interaction of its nucleotide residues with capsid subunits. In both types of virions, little is known about the detailed conformation and organization of the packaged DNA, and virtually nothing is known about the nature of putative DNA- protein interactions. These issues, which are central to the development of effective antiviral therapies, can be conveniently addressed by methods of Raman spectroscopy. Here, we describe novel techniques of polarized and time-resolved Raman spectroscopy, including both off-resonance and ultraviolet-resonance Raman (UVRR) applications, to explore the organization and structure of DNA in native viral assemblies. The results reveal a variety of packaging strategies and novel conformational and dynamic features of the packaged viral genomes.
Intracultural Communication and Intercultural Communication: Are They Different?

The paper discusses the differences between intracultural communication and intercultural communication from a socio-cognitive perspective that treats this relationship as a continuum rather than a dichotomy. Movement on the continuum, and differences between the two phenomena are affected by different factors that will be discussed in the paper. The hypothetical left end of the continuum is intracultural communication and the right end is intercultural communication. Neither exists in pure form. The question is to which end a given communicative situation is closer to and what characteristics it is dominated by. While moving on toward the right end communication becomes less dependent on standards, norms, frames, core common ground and formulaic language and is characterized more by emergent common ground, ad hoc generated rather than formulaic expressions, norm creating attempts and individual creativity in solving communication problems.
Consistent recovery and polygonal approximation of functions.

We consider real-valued functions defined on the unit interval. It is known that the class of first-return recoverable functions is the same as the class of polygonally approximable functions and that this class consists of the Baire one functions. Here we introduce the more restrictive classes of consistently first-return recoverable functions and consistently polygonally approximable functions. We show these classes are identical and consist of those functions which are continuous except at countably many points.
A Service Provider's Elicitation of Its Customers’ Demand Distributions by a Price Mechanism

In a service environment a service provider needs to determine the amount and kinds of capacity to meet customers’ needs over many periods. To make good decisions, she needs to know the probability distribution of her customers’ demand in each period. We study a situation in which customers’ demand for a given service is random in each period, but inelastic, or modeled well by this assumption, and cannot be delayed to the next period. This article presents a mechanism that allows a service provider to learn the distribution of a customer’s demand by offering him a set of contracts through which he can partially prepay for future service for a reduced cost for units of service based on anticipated needs. We describe the form of a set of contracts that will cause the customer to reveal his demand distribution as he minimizes his expected costs. To justify the effort of organizing and offering contracts, we present an application that demonstrates the cost savings to the service provider with better capacity planning using the truthfully elicited distribution. [Submitted: December 23, 2010. revisions: July 11, 2011, August
The global politics of impairment and disability: processes and embodiments

The advent of global disability studies has changed the entire shape of the discipline, and if you have not truly engaged with the inequalities and differences embedded in the international landsca...
An analysis of sterility studies in the female

Abstract 1. 1. An analysis of seventy-six cases of sterility in the female. 2. 2. The studies that afforded us the greatest information as to the cause of the sterility were basal metabolic determinations, hysterosalpingograms, and tubal insufflations. 3. 3. The greatest number of pregnancies occurred in the hypothyroid and ovarian dysfunction groups that received thyroid extract, estrogenic therapy and/or follicle stimulating hormone. 4. 4. Of seventy-six cases studied and treated, a total of twenty-nine pregnancies resulted, three of which terminated in spontaneous abortion, and the remaining 26 were delivered as normal healthy babies.
Metformin Prescription for Insured Adults With Prediabetes From 2010 to 2012

Evidence shows that lifestyle changes or metformin can delay the progression of prediabetes to overt diabetes. This retrospective cohort study examined the prescription of metformin in a large samp...
Direct Fokker-Planck calculations.

The past decade has seen the development of powerful numerical methods for studying star cluster evolution by direct integration of the Fokker-Planck equation. Cohn’s basic algorithm for spherical systems of identical point masses and its application to the study of core collapse is reviewed. Merritt’s extension of this method to treat systems containing a mass spectrum, and Goodman’s extensions to include strong scattering and rotation are discussed. Results from direct Fokker-Planck computations of core collapse in single mass and multi-mass isotropic clusters and single mass anisotropic clusters are presented to illustrate the method. Calculations of pre- and post-collapse evolution with a central black hole and with heating by hard binaries are reported. Prospects for future development of the direct Fokker-Planck method will be discussed, with emphasis on the central goal of developing physically realistic models for interpreting Hubble Space Telescope observations of globular cluster structure.
Stem cells in normal breast development and breast cancer

The main focus of this review is the role of mammary stem cells in normal breast development and carcinogenesis. We have developed a new in vitro culture system that permits, for the first time, the propagation of mammary stem and progenitor cells in an undifferentiated state, which should facilitate the elucidation of pathways that regulate normal mammary stem-cell self-renewal and differentiation. Furthermore, we propose a model in which transformation of stem cells, or early progenitor cells, results in carcinogenesis. A key event in this process is the deregulation of normal self-renewal in these cells. Transformed mammary stem or progenitor cells undergo aberrant differentiation processes that result in generation of the phenotypic heterogeneity found in human and rodent breast cancers. This phenotypic diversity is driven by a small subset of mammary tumour stem cells. We will discuss the important implications of this mammary tumour stem-cell model.
Individual differences in expressive response: a challenge for ECA design

To create realistic and expressive virtual humans, we need to develop better models of the processes and dynamics of human emotions and expressions. A first step in this effort is to develop means to systematically induce and capture realistic expressions in real humans. We conducted a series of studies on human emotions and facial expression using the Emotion Evoking Game (EVG) and a high-speed video camera. In this paper, we discuss a detailed analysis of facial expressions in response to a surprise situation. We provide details on the rich dynamics of facial expressions, along with data useful for animation of virtual human. The analysis of the data also revealed considerable individual differences in whether surprise was evoked and how it was expressed.
The stable isotope amount effect: New insights from NEXRAD echo tops, Luquillo Mountains, Puerto Rico

[1] The stable isotope amount effect has often been invoked to explain patterns of isotopic composition of rainfall in the tropics. This paper describes a new approach, correlating the isotopic composition of precipitation with cloud height and atmospheric temperature using NEXRAD radar echo tops, which are a measure of the maximum altitude of rainfall within the clouds. The seasonal differences in echo top altitudes and their corresponding temperatures are correlated with the isotopic composition of rainfall. These results offer another factor to consider in interpretation of the seasonal variation in isotopic composition of tropical rainfall, which has previously been linked to amount or rainout effects and not to temperature effects. Rain and cloud water isotope collectors in the Luquillo Mountains in northeastern Puerto Rico were sampled monthly for three years and precipitation was analyzed for δ18O and δ2H. Precipitation enriched in 18O and 2H occurred during the winter dry season (approximately December–May) and was associated with a weather pattern of trade wind showers and frontal systems. During the summer rainy season (approximately June–November), precipitation was depleted in 18O and 2H and originated in low pressure systems and convection associated with waves embedded in the prevailing easterly airflow. Rain substantially depleted in 18O and 2H compared to the aforementioned weather patterns occurred during large low pressure systems. Weather analysis showed that 29% of rain input to the Luquillo Mountains was trade wind orographic rainfall, and 30% of rainfall could be attributed to easterly waves and low pressure systems. Isotopic signatures associated with these major climate patterns can be used to determine their influence on streamflow and groundwater recharge and to monitor possible effects of climate change on regional water resources.