cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Aligning care with the personal values of patients with complex care needs.

Objective To identify opportunities to align care with the personal values of patients from three distinct groups with complex medical, behavioral, and social needs. Data sources/study setting Between June and August 2019, we conducted semi-structured interviews with individuals with complex care needs in two integrated health care delivery systems. Study design Qualitative study using semi-structured interviews. Data collection methods We interviewed three groups of patients at Kaiser Permanente Washington and Kaiser Permanente Colorado representing three distinct profiles of complex care needs: Group A ("obesity, opioid prescription, and low-resourced neighborhood"), Group B ("older, high medical morbidity, emergency department, and hospital use"), and Group C ("older, mental and physical health concerns, and low-resourced neighborhood"). These profiles were identified based on prior work and prioritized by internal primary care stakeholders. Interview transcripts were analyzed using thematic analysis. Principal findings Twenty-four patients participated; eight from each complex needs profile. Mean age across groups was 71 (range 48-86) years. We identified five themes common across the three groups that captured patients' views regarding values-aligned care. These themes focused on the importance of care teams exploring and acknowledging a patient's values, providing access to nonphysician providers who have different perspectives on care delivery, offering values-aligned mental health care, ensuring connection to community-based resources that support values and address needs, and providing care that supports the patient plus their family and caregivers. Conclusions Our results suggest several opportunities to improve how care is delivered to patients with different complex medical, behavioral, and social needs. Future research is needed to better understand how to incorporate these opportunities into health care.
Climate, landscape, and management effects on nitrate and soluble phosphorus concentrations in subsurface drainage discharge in the western lake erie basin

Abstract. Subsurface drainage, while an important and necessary agricultural production practice in the Midwest, contributes nitrate (NO3) and soluble phosphorus (P) to surface waters. The magnitude of NO3 and soluble P losses in subsurface drainage varies greatly by landscape, climate, and field management factors. This study evaluates the combined impact of these factors on observed P and NO3 concentrations in subsurface drainage water in Northwest Ohio. Factors significantly impacting NO3 concentrations included rainfall, N and P fertilizer application rate & timing, Soil Test P, soil texture, season, drain spacing, site relief, tillage, temperature, and crop. These findings provide evidence of NO3 loss via leaching following fertilizer application, and indicate that BMPs specifically targeted at reducing NO3 concentrations and soil matrix flow of NO3 following spring fertilizer application will have the greatest impact on NO3 losses from subsurface discharge. Factors significantly impacting soluble P losses included P fertilizer application rate and timing, rainfall, season, crop, soil texture, site relief, Soil Test P, tillage, and temperature. BMPs specifically targeted at P fertilizer management and prevention of soluble P movement via preferential flow pathways during rainfall events will have the greatest impact on soluble P losses from subsurface drainage systems.
Waypoint Selection in Constrained Domains (for Cooperative Systems)

This chapter presents a new framework for multiple vehicle systems modeling and control, emphasizing team behavior in a multi-level, multi-resolution way. To set the common reference trajectory for team vehicles, a waypoint selection strategy is proposed taking into account the dimensions of the free space and practical aspects of motion generation. The multi-vehicle cooperative parking strategy is proposed so that a “class” of problems can be solved by formation reconfiguration. The study focuses on several cases corresponding to different scenarios.
Early nutrition conditions and later risk of disease

Publisher Summary This chapter presents the hypothesis that chronic diseases in adulthood have origins in the fetal and early postnatal period. The fetal programming hypothesis holds that, in response to undernutrition during critical periods of growth and development, the structure and function of organs and tissues are “programmed,” or permanently altered in ways that predispose individuals to chronic disease in later life, most notably diabetes and cardiovascular disease (CVD). The predisposition may take the form of increased susceptibility to chronic disease risk factors, such as atherogenic diets, excess energy intake, and reduced physical activity. Rates of fetal growth retardation remain relatively high in developing countries, while at the same time, rapid socioeconomic changes are accompanied by an increase in sedentary activity and a transition to higher energy density diets. Thus, today's older children and adults in developing countries are more likely than those in earlier decades to be small at birth, but subsequently exposed to more environmental and behavioral risk factors for chronic disease during their childhood and adult years. Evidence to support the fetal programming hypothesis was accumulated at a rapid rate over the past decade.
The biosynthesis of the 7-deazaadenine ribonucleoside, tubercidin, by Streptomyces tubercidicus.

Studies on the biosynthesis of the 7-deazaadenine base of the antibiotic, tubercidin, in growing cultures of Streptomyces tubercidicus are described. Isotope incorporation patterns suggest that the pyrimido moiety of a purine serves as the precursor of the pyrimido portion of 7-deazaadenine and that carbon atoms 1 and 2 of ribose may be incorporated into the pyrrole moiety of 7-deazaadenine. These conclusions are based on the following experimental observations. Carbon atom 8 of adenine-8-14C is metabolized to 14CO2 during the biosynthesis of tubercidin. 14C from adenine-2-14C, but not adenine-8-14C, is incorporated into 7-deazaadenine. The extents of incorporation of glycine and formate into cellular adenine and 7-deazaadenine are similar. The addition of adenine to cultures of S. tubercidicus inhibits the incorporation of 14C from glycine-1-14C into both cellular adenine and 7-deazaadenine. Ribose-1-14C is incorporated into the 7-deazaadenine ring. The amide nitrogen of the glutamine and the amino nitrogen of aspartic acid are incorporated into 7-deazaadenine. The implications of these findings with respect to the biological transformation of purines to 7-deazaadenine are discussed.
Infection-induced preterm delivery involves a pro-inflammatory state, but not macrophage M2-M1 polarization, at the maternal-fetal interface (HUM8P.334)

Objective: Endotoxin treatment causes preterm delivery in mice, and this is associated with an expansion of regulatory T cells (Tregs) in primary lymphoid organs (Arenas-Hernandez et al. unpublished data). Our aim was to determine whether this expansion causes a pro-inflammatory state and/or macrophage M2-M1 polarization at the maternal-fetal interface. Methods: Pregnant C57BL/6 mice were injected with either 15 μg of LPS (E. coli 0111:B4) or 200 μl PBS as a control (n=9-11 each). Mice were euthanized just prior to preterm delivery. Uterine and decidual cell suspensions were prepared and analyzed by flow cytometry to identify CD4+ and CD8+ Tregs, Th9 cells, Th17 cells, T-bet+ T cells, neutrophils, macrophages, IL4- and IFNγ-producing T cells, and M1 and M2 macrophages. Results: 1) Uterine, but not decidual, CD4+ Tregs were fewer in LPS treated mice than in controls (p=0.019); 2) Uterine and decidual macrophages were fewer in LPS treated mice than in controls (p=0.025 and 0.036); 3) Uterine and decidual neutrophils were greater in LPS treated mice than in controls (p=0.002 and 0.0001); 4) Decidual IFNγ-producing T cells were fewer in LPS treated mice than in controls (p=0.036); 5) M1 and M2 macrophage populations did not change with LPS treatment. Conclusions: Endotoxin treatment of pregnant mice promotes a pro-inflammatory stage, which includes abundant neutrophils and scarce regulatory T cells and macrophages (M1 and M2) at the maternal-fetal interface.
Development of Potent and Selective Indomethacin Analogues for the Inhibition of AKR1C3 (Type 5 17β-Hydroxysteroid Dehydrogenase/Prostaglandin F Synthase) in Castrate-Resistant Prostate Cancer

Castrate-resistant prostate cancer (CRPC) is a fatal, metastatic form of prostate cancer. CRPC is characterized by reactivation of the androgen axis due to changes in androgen receptor signaling and/or adaptive intratumoral androgen biosynthesis. AKR1C3 is upregulated in CRPC where it catalyzes the formation of potent androgens. This makes AKR1C3 a target for the treatment of CRPC. AKR1C3 inhibitors should not inhibit AKR1C1/AKR1C2, which inactivate 5α-dihydrotestosterone. Indomethacin, used to inhibit cyclooxygenase, also inhibits AKR1C3 and displays selectivity over AKR1C1/AKR1C2. Parallel synthetic strategies were used to generate libraries of indomethacin analogues, which exhibit reduced cyclooxygenase inhibitory activity but retain AKR1C3 inhibitory potency and selectivity. The lead compounds inhibited AKR1C3 with nanomolar potency, displayed >100-fold selectivity over AKR1C1/AKR1C2, and blocked testosterone formation in LNCaP-AKR1C3 cells. The AKR1C3·NADP+·2′-des-methyl-indomethacin crystal structur...
Application of microarray profiling to clinical trials in cancer.

CANCER IS A HETEROGENEOUS DISEASE with variable biology and often unpredictable clinical outcomes. Current clinicopathologic staging is often unable to accurately predict which individuals will suffer systemic relapse after definitive loco regional treatment. In fact, many patients with early-stage disease will develop metastases within 10 years after treatment. 1 Conversely, up to 30% of patients with high-risk cancer experience long-term disease-free survival with loco regional therapy alone. Risk reduction for relapse and death is unquestionably improved by adjuvant systemic therapy; however, the absolute benefits of adjuvant therapy is achieved in less than 15% of patients overall, and precise identification of individuals who will benefit from systemic therapy is not possible on clinical or pathologic grounds. 2 The distressing fact is that most cancer patients are overtreated in the adjuvant setting to avoid missing those few who might achieve benefit.
Microsystem Engineering of Lab-on-a-Chip Devices. Oliver Geschke, Henning Klank, and Pieter Telleman, editors. Weinheim, Germany: Wiley-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KgaA, 2004, 270 pp., $99.95, hardcover. ISBN 3-527-30733-8.

This book is a solid introductory text to the rapidly developing fields of microfluidics and lab-on-a-chip. Those chips have resulted from a clever combination of microfabrication technologies and MEMS (microelectro-mechanical systems) with biochemical assays and promise a broad range of applications in analytical chemistry, medical diagnostics, and environmental sciences. The rapid developments in this field have led to numerous texts and textbooks in recent years. This particular text is systematic in its treatment and predominantly dedicated (as the title indicates) to the …
The Function of Neighboring for the Middle-Class Male

The popular literature on man in a modern urban civilization presents the image of persons divested of enduring social ties, caught between conflicting pressures, and vulnerable to a depersonalized social world. This imagery of man accommodating to a new kind of human environment needs careful appraisal before it can be assumed that structural tensions have a one-to-one relationship with tensions experienced by individuals or that the passing of older norms have left vacuums.
Medicaid outpatient utilization for waterborne pathogenic illness following Hurricane Floyd.

Objectives.Flooding provides an opportunity for epidemics of waterborne viral, protozoan, or bacterial diseases to develop in affected areas. Epidemic levels of disease may translate into higher th...
Mung bean nuclease cleavage pattern at a polypurine.polypyrimidine sequence upstream from the mouse metallothionein-I gene.

Mung bean nuclease, an enzyme specific for single-stranded DNA, was used to probe a non-B DNA structure present in the mouse metallothionein-I gene. The region sensitive to the enzyme was constituted by a 128 base-pair long polypurine.polypyrimidine sequence located at 1.2-kb from the start of transcription. A detailed analysis of the mung bean nuclease cleavage pattern revealed that: (i) under conditions of supercoiling and low pH a triplex structure was formed, (ii) the triplex was flanked by a sequence with the potential of forming a Z-DNA structure, (iii) most of the enzymatic activity was localized at some of the junctions between double-stranded and triple-stranded DNA and at mismatches in the triplex, (iv) no unpaired bases were observed in the loop or outside the triplex, and (v) the triplex was present in more than one configuration.
Why does zeno the stoic hold his breath? "Zenoism" as a new variable for studying suicide.

A single misfortune may be seen as just that, or may be interpreted as Zeno the Stoic did, as a “sign” of cosmic proportion (zenoizing), which paradoxically provides a missing meaning structure. This article presents two studies testing out this new variable (zenoism): in Study One (n = 233), we explore the moderating effects of religiosity and gender on zenoism, depression, demoralization, and suicidality. In Study Two (n = 137), we explore these same moderating effects on zenoism, fear of dependency, value of life, and favorability toward physician-assisted suicide (PAS). Results indicate: 1) men and non-religious respondents (especially men) zenoize more than women and religious respondents; 2) non-religious respondents, (especially men) are more generally favorable to PAS and more suicidal; 3) Zenoism is negatively related to depression, demoralization, and value of life for non-religious respondents, and for men; 4) Zenoism is positively related to favorability toward PAS toward one's self and overal...
Poster Sessions CP09: Kinases and Phosphatases

Abnormal myelin formation appears to be one defect contributing to the neuropathology associated with the fetal alcohol syndrome, the major cause of noncongenital mental retardation. Using the CG-4 cell line we previously showed that 25–75 mm ethanol (EtOH) down-regulates myelin basic protein (MBP) expression in differentiating oligodendrocytes (OLGs) without affecting the 2′,3′-cyclic nucleotide 3′-phosphodiesterase (CNP) expression or morphological development (Bichenkov and Ellingson 2001). Here we observed that a relatively low concentration of 12-phorbol-13-myristate acetate (PMA) mimicked the EtOH-caused inhibition of MBP expression without affecting CNP expression or morphology. The inhibition of MBP expression by 100 mm EtOH or 1 nm PMA was completely counteracted by three inhibitors of protein kinase C (PKC); bisinodoylmaleimide I, chelerythrine chloride, and calphostin C, indicating that EtOH down-regulated MBP expression by activating PKC. We investigated whether the EtOH-caused activation resulted in part from up-regulation of the expression of PKC isozymes. Of 11 PKC isozymes examined, CG-4 OLGs expressed nine; PKC α, β1, β2, δ, e, λ, μ, nu and zeta; while PKC isozymes γ and theta were not detected. Only five PKC isozymes, α, β1, β2, μ, and nu, displayed developmental changes in expression. However, EtOH did not up-regulate the early expression of any PKC isozyme during the first two days of differentiation, the developmental stage when it down-regulates the MBP expression in CG-4 cells. The results indicate that EtOH delays MBP expression by activating at least one phorbol ester-sensitive PKC isozyme in differentiating oligodendrocytes without up-regulating its expression. Acknowledgements: Support: NIAAA Grant AA072185.
Meta-analysis of coronary computed tomography angiography versus standard of care strategy for the evaluation of low risk chest pain: Are randomized controlled trials and cohort studies showing the same evidence?

Abstract Background Randomized control trials (RCTs) have established the use of Coronary Computed Tomography Angiography (CCTA) for the evaluation of low to intermediate risk patients presenting with acute chest pain to the emergency department (ED). However, concerns remain regarding the downstream resource utilization and the clinical impact of such strategy. Methods We performed a meta-analysis of existing studies to compare CCTA to the standard of care (SOC) strategies in the low to intermediate risk chest pain patients. We abstracted the reported incidence of acute coronary syndromes (ACS), the total number of invasive coronary angiography (ICA) and subsequent revascularization procedures, the rates of hospital readmissions and repeat ED visits. We stratified the results according to the type of the studies (randomized or not) and used random effect analysis for the studied outcomes. Results Four RCTs and 3 case-control studies with 3306 patients undergoing CCTA and 2752 assigned to SOC were included in the analysis. Following the index visit, we observed a significant reduction in the risk of ACS (RR: 0.26, 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.87; p=0.03) and in the rates of repeat ED visits (RR: 0.58, 95% CI: 0.36 to 0.94; p=0.03). In addition, a trend toward less hospital readmission (p=0.07) was noted. There was no difference in ICA (p=0.99) but an increase in revascularization procedures (RR: 1.46, 95% CI: 1.09 to 1.94; p=0.01). Conclusion CCTA use in the ED for the triage of low to intermediate risk patients reduces the risk of future ACS and subsequent ED visits for chest pain.
Inhibition of HERG potassium channels by cocaethylene: a metabolite of cocaine and ethanol.

Objective: To investigate the mechanism by which cocaethylene, a metabolite of cocaine and alcohol inhibits a cardiac delayed rectifier potassium channel. Methods: The cDNA of the HERG potassium channel that underlies I Kr in humans was transiently expressed in tsA201 cells and currents recorded using the patch clamp technique. Results: The cocaethylene inhibition of HERG is concentration-dependent with an IC50 of 4.0 μM. The inhibition increases over the range of voltages where the channels activate suggesting that cocaethylene binding may be linked to the activation or opening of the channels. Cocaethylene slows the deactivation of the tail current indicating that drug-modified channels are stabilized in the open conformation. Cocaethylene also accelerates inactivation but has no effect of the recovery from inactivation. Conclusions: Cocaethylene inhibits HERG by binding to the activated or open channels and by modulating the kinetics of inactivation. The cocaethylene inhibition of the channels occurs within the range of concentrations detected in the plasma of humans following the ingestion of cocaine and alcohol and is likely to contribute to the potent cardiotoxicity of this drug combination.
Is there a small skew Cayley transform with zero diagonal

Abstract The eigenvectors of an Hermitian matrix H are the columns of some complex unitary matrix Q. For any diagonal unitary matrix Ω the columns of Q · Ω are eigenvectors too. Among all such Q · Ω at least one has a skew-Hermitian Cayley transform S ≔ (I + Q · Ω)−1 · (I − Q · Ω) with just zeros on its diagonal. Why? The proof is unobvious, as is the further observation that Ω may also be so chosen that no element of this S need exceed 1 in magnitude. Thus, plausible constraints, easy to satisfy by perturbations of complex eigenvectors when Hermitian matrix H is perturbed infinitesimally, can be satisfied for discrete perturbations too. But if H is real symmetric, Q real orthogonal and Ω restricted to diagonals of ±1’s, then whether at least one real skew-symmetric S must have no element bigger than 1 in magnitude is not known yet.
Pulmonary Cyp1A1 and CYP1A2 levels and activities in adult male and female offspring of rats exposed during gestation and lactation to 2,3,7, 8-tetrachlorodibenzo-p-dioxin.

Abstract The levels and activities of pulmonary microsomal CYP1A1 and CYP1A2 in 40-day-old male and female, and 120-day-old male offspring of pregnant rats treated with five weekly 0.1 μg/kg doses of 2,3,7,8-tetrachlorodibenzo- p -dioxin (TCDD) during gestation and lactation were compared with those in age-matched offspring of untreated dams. The CYP1A1-preferential activity, ethoxyresorufin O -deethylase (EROD), was comparably induced 5.3- and 6.4-fold in 40-day-old male and female offspring, respectively, but was not induced in 120-day-old male offspring, of TCDD-treated dams. Similarly, CYP1A1 protein was induced in 40-day-old female or male offspring of untreated dams but was undetectable in 120-day-old offspring of untreated or treated dams. CYP1A2 activity, as measured by the bioactivation of 2-amino-3,4-dimethylimidazo[4,5- f ]quinoline (MeIQ) to mutagens in the Ames assay, was elevated 11.1- and 5.5-fold in 40-day-old female and male offspring, respectively, of TCDD-treated dams, but was unaffected by TCDD exposure in 120-day-old offspring. CYP1A2 protein was undetectable in 40-day-old male or female offspring of untreated dams or in 120-day-old male offspring of treated or untreated dams; it was detected in 40-day-old offspring of treated dams, at a level that was higher in females than in males. The results show that gestational and lactational exposure to TCDD causes long-lasting and gender-preferential induction of CYP1A1 as well as CYP1A2 in the lungs of rat offspring.
Reliable classification of high explosive and chemical/biological artillery using acoustic sensors

Feature extraction methods based on the discrete wavelet transform and multiresolution analysis are used to develop a robust classification algorithm that reliably discriminates between conventional and simulated chemical/biological artillery rounds via acoustic signals produced during detonation utilizing a generic acoustic sensor. Based on the transient properties of the signature blast distinct characteristics arise within the different acoustic signatures because high explosive warheads emphasize concussive and shrapnel effects, while chemical/biological warheads are designed to disperse their contents over large areas, therefore employing a slower burning, less intense explosive to mix and spread their contents. The ensuing blast waves are readily characterized by variations in the corresponding peak pressure and rise time of the blast, differences in the ratio of positive pressure amplitude to the negative amplitude, and variations in the overall duration of the resulting waveform. Unique attributes can also be identified that depend upon the properties of the gun tube, projectile speed at the muzzle, and the explosive burn rates of the warhead. The algorithm enables robust classification of various airburst signatures using acoustics. It is capable of being integrated within an existing chemical/biological sensor, a stand-alone generic sensor, or a part of a disparate sensor suite. When emplaced in high-threat areas, this added capability would further provide field personal with advanced battlefield knowledge without the aide of so-called "sniffer" sensors that rely upon air particle information based on direct contact with possible contaminated air. In this work, the discrete wavelet transform is used to extract the predominant components of these characteristics from air burst signatures at ranges exceeding 2km while maintaining temporal sequence of the data to keep relevance to the transient differences of the airburst signatures. Highly reliable discrimination is achieved with a feedforward neural network classifier trained on a feature space derived from the distribution of wavelet coefficients and higher frequency details found within different levels of the multiresolution decomposition the neural network then is capable of classifying new airburst signatures as Chemical/Biological or High Explosive.© (2005) COPYRIGHT SPIE--The International Society for Optical Engineering. Downloading of the abstract is permitted for personal use only.
Selective media for detecting gastrointestinal carriage of vancomycin-resistant enterococci

Nosocomial infection with vancomycin-resistant enterococci (VRE) has become a significant problem. Effective institution of infection control measures depends on rapid identification of carriage of the organism, especially in asymptomatic individuals. We compared two selective media for use in screening for the presence of VRE and found that an agar medium containing bile esculin azide supplemented with 8 μg/ml of vancomycin was a useful and cost-effective means for primary screening for asymptomatic gastrointestinal carriage of VRE.
Nuclear forces and the properties of nuclear matter

Abstract The application of the Brueckner theory to the nuclear many-body problem can be greatly simplified if one separates the two-nucleon interaction (for any given state and relative momentum) into a short range part vs and a long range part vl. The cut is made such that vs alone gives no phase shift for free particle scattering. If the separation is made in this way, then the presence of nuclear matter, as manifested by the Pauli principle, has only a small effect on the two-particle wave function at short distances. On the other hand, the Pauli principle drastically reduces the induced correlations due to vl. In fact, vl is the first approximation to the effective interaction in nuclear matter. This procedure permits one to systematically expand the effective interaction in terms of ts, the reaction operator for free particles caused by vs alone. The contribution of all first- and second-order terms to the binding energy of extended nuclear matter has been calculated numerically. Most of the work was done using a central spin-independent two-body interaction containing a hard core of radius 0.4 fermi followed by an attractive exponential well with parameters chosen to give infinite scattering length and intrinsic range 2.5 fermis. If the potential is assumed to act only in S-states, we obtain a minimum energy of −12 Mev per particle at a density corresponding to a nuclear radius 1.0 A 1 3 fermis. The largest of the second-order terms contributes only 5.4 Mev to the energy per particle at this density (as compared to −42 Mev for the first-order term) and the other second-order terms much less. Thus our expansion appears to converge fairly rapidly. The effect of changes in the well parameters has been investigated. Also, our method was applied to interactions used by Gomes et al., Brueckner and Gammel, and Tagami, and our results compared with some of those obtained by the above authors.
Modeling for quantitative non-destructive evaluation

A quantitative approach to non-destructive evaluation (NDE) must be based on models of the measurement processes. A model's purpose is to predict, from first principles, the measurement system's response to material properties and anomalies in a material or structure. For the ultrasonic case a measurement model should include modeling of the generation, propagation and reception of ultrasonic signals, and the ultrasonic interactions that generate the system's response function. A measurement model has many benefits, which are discussed in the paper. Three examples of the productive use of quantitative modeling in conjunction with measured data are presented: the detection and sizing of fatigue cracks which emanate from weep holes in the risers of wing panels in the interior of an aircraft wing by the use of ultrasound generated on the exterior surface of the wing, the determination of the elastic constants of anisotropic thin films deposited on a substrate, and the detection and sizing of surface-breaking cracks by the use of the laser-source scanning technique for laser generated and detected ultrasound.
Development and Testing of the Clinical Post-Conference Learning Environment Survey.

Abstract Clinical postconference is an integral component of the required laboratory hours in undergraduate baccalaureate nursing education. Empirical evidence supporting the educational benefits of this activity are nearly nonexistent. This article describes the development and psychometric testing of a self-report instrument designed to measure clinical postconference learning environments as perceived by undergraduate nursing students and faculty. The Clinical Post-Conference Learning Environment Survey (CPCLES) consists of 54 items and has been tested with more than 500 participants in three schools of nursing in the Midwest. Based on theoretical support and comprehensive review of the literature, six components of the learning environment are measured in two forms of the instrument; an actual scale and an importance scale. Content validity, internal consistency, and testretest reliability are discussed. Using the CPCLES, perceptions of undergraduate nursing students and faculty were measured. Significant differences between the actual components of the learning environment and the correlated ratings of the importance of these components were found. Faculty perceived a significantly greater amount of teacher support, task orientation, and innovation in the postconference learning environment than did undergraduate students. No differences were noted between faculty and students regarding the importance of the learning environment components. This study presents findings with the use of the first instrument developed to measure clinical postconference learning environments. The congruence and discrepancy among and between learning groups' perceptions carry implications for educational practices in this setting. Subsequent investigations using this tool may be able to link the perceived learning environment to valued cognitive, affective, and behavioral learning outcomes.
Reduction of solid–solid thermal boundary resistance by inserting an interlayer

An effective method is proposed to greatly improve the thermal transport across the interface between two solids with dissimilar phonon spectra. If the two solids have similar crystal structure and lattice constant, it is predicted from the molecular dynamics modeling that an over 50% reduction of the thermal boundary resistance can be achieved by inserting a 3-unit-cell-thick interlayer whose Debye temperature is approximately the square root of the product of the Debye temperatures of the two solids. On the other hand, if the two solids have a large difference in lattice constant, it is found the interfacial atomic restructuring plays an important role in thermal transport. In order to effectively reduce the thermal boundary resistance, the interlayer should have a lattice constant near the average of the lattice constants of the two solids. For this case, an over 60% reduction of the thermal boundary resistance can be achieved if the Debye temperature of the interlayer is equal to or slightly higher than the square root of the product of the Debye temperatures of the two solids. The enhancement of thermal transport is found mainly due to more phonon states participating in the boundary transport by inserting an interlayer.
A Floristic Comparison of Benthic "Marine" Algae in Bras D'or Lake, Nova Scotia with Five Other Northwest Atlantic Embayments and the Baltic Sea in Northern Europe

Abstract The seaweed flora of Bras d'Or Lake, Cape Breton Island, Nova Scotia is compared with those of the Baltic Sea in northern Europe and five Northwest Atlantic embayments ranging from Pomquet Harbour, Nova Scotia to Narragansett Bay, Rhode Island. Both Bras d'Or Lake and the Baltic Sea have experienced extensive geological and hydrographic changes during the past 15,000 years, which have resulted in limited connections to the open sea, negligible tides, low salinities, and reduced floras. The ecology of these two unique saltwater bodies differs from true estuaries like the York River of Maine, the Great Bay Estuary System of New Hampshire/Maine, and the Merrimack River of Massachusetts, which experience extreme hydrographic and tidal variability. Of the 309 total seaweed taxa recorded from the six Northwest Atlantic embayments, Bras d'Or Lake had the lowest number of red, brown, and green algae (i.e., 83) and shared taxa (mean 61.2 ± 4.9 SE), whereas Narragansett Bay had the highest numbers of total...
Meria laricis, an anamorph of Rhabdocline

Meria laricis, a needle cast pathogen of Larix spp. in North America and Europe, has no known ascigerous state, possibly having permanently lost the ability to reproduce sexually and thus rep- resenting an obligately asexual mitosporic holo- morph. Comparisons of nucleotide sequences from the internal transcribed spacer region of M. laricis, Rhabdocline spp., and several genera of inoperculate discomycetes show that isolates of M. laricis form a monophyletic clade within the ascomycete genus Rhabdocline. Cladistic analysis of infraspecific taxa of Rhabdocline and ordinal placement of the genus are discussed. Results of cladistic analysis suggest that possession of an amyloid ascus pore is an unreliable character for differentiation of species and subspe- cies.
Large-dimension limit of higher-angular-momentum states of two-electron atoms

To apply the methods of dimensional scaling to higher-angular-momentum states, a formalism needs to be developed which factors the $D$-dimensional rotational degrees of freedom from the internal degrees of freedom. The rotational degrees of freedom multiply with increasing dimensionality, while the internal degrees of freedom remain finite in number. A suitable expansion which achieves this has been presented by the authors recently and is an $N$-electron $D$-dimensional generalization of the Schwartz expansion. A derivation of the coupled differential equations in the internal variables that result from the application of the Hamiltonian to this wave-function expansion for the atomic two-electron system has been presented by the authors in another recent paper. The coupled differential equations admit continuation in $D$ and clearly show the complete spectrum of exact interdimensional degeneracies of the two-electron system. However, to apply the methods of dimensional scaling to the two-electron system, the system of coupled differential equations have to be solved for large $D.$ This paper concerns itself with this issue.
Civil Society, Constitution, and Legitimacy. By Andrew Arato. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield, 2000. 352p. $72.00 cloth, $26.95 paper.

Recent years have witnessed momentous political transformations across the globe. From Eastern and Central Europe and the former Soviet Union to South Africa, these changes are often described as transitions from state bureaucracies, party dictatorships, and authoritarian rule to liberal constitutional democracies and market economies. Andrew Arato, moving gracefully among the fields of political theory, sociology, history, constitutionalism, and comparative politics, redirects our attention to the originary moment of constitutional creation, when ordinary lawmaking recedes in favor of extraordinary politics and higher lawmaking. It is also a moment when fundamental constitutional norms emerge as the main point of contest within political debate and action. Combining empirical and descriptive analysis with normative considerations, Arato persuasively demonstrates how the mode of creation of new constitutions affects the democratic and institutional content of these transformations as well as the prospects for future consolidation of the newly developed constitutional norms.
Finding genes and variants for lipid levels after genome-wide association analysis.

Purpose of review We review the main findings from genome-wide association studies (GWAS) for levels of HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol and triglycerides, including approaches to identify the functional variant(s) or gene(s). We discuss study design and challenges related to whole genome or exome sequencing to identify novel genes and variants.
The autecology of Battarrea stevenii in ephemeral rivers of southwestern Africa

In September 1990, 74 sporocarps of Battarrea stevenii were observed on the floodplain of the ephemeral Kuiseb River in western Namibia. Herein we report subsequent studies of the distribution, abundance, nutritional role, phenology, and sporocarp development of this fungus in the hyper-arid Namib Desert. Included are full descriptions of developing and mature sporocarps. B. stevenii is a common associate of riparian forests on silty floodplain terraces, but does not form mycorrhizal associations with the dominant woody species, Faidherbia albida or Tamarix usneoides. Rather, clamped mycelium extends throughout floodplain soils decomposing coarse and fine particulate organic material (4—7% of soil dry weight). Sporocarp production occurs 4.5—12 mo post-flooding in response to soil desiccation at depths of 20—35 cm. The extensive mycelium, duration of vegetative growth post-flooding, and large size and abundance of B. stevenii sporocarps suggest that it is an important component of the subsurface decomposer community in the Namib's ephemeral rivers. Given that the fungus has also been recorded from floodplain soils of Angola, Hungary, and New Mexico (U.S.A.), and is known to have a world-wide distribution, we predict that further biogeographical studies will reveal that B. stevenii is a characteristic element of the riparian biota in dryland rivers, which drain approximately one-third of the earth's land surface.
Chorionic Villi Sampling: A Nursing Perspective

A relatively new procedure, chorionic villi sampling is now available as an alternative method for prenatal diagnoses of genetic disorders during pregnancy. Indications, procedures, risks, advantages, and nursing implications of this procedure are defined and described. Readers are thereby provided with current information concerning prenatal genetic diagnosis that may be passed on to patients in need of this information.
Institutional Reforms and Moravian Identity in the Czech Republic

In the first federal and national elections after the collapse of communism in Czechoslovakia, supporters for Moravian autonomy achieved significant levels of representation and obtained nearly a q...
Excessive risk exposure: A question of ethical decision-making

Abstract This commentary essay reflects on the article titled “When an irresistible force meets an immovable object: The interplay of agency and structure in the UK financial crisis” (Ashby et al., this issue ). Specifically, managers took on excessive risk that ultimately contributed to financial crisis. This essay discusses whether the decision to accept excessive risk falls under ethical decision-making, including the degree of moral intensity as possibly perceived by risk and financial managers. The components for determining moral intensity include (1) magnitude of consequences, (2) social consensus, (3) probability of effect, (4) temporal immediacy, (5) proximity, and (6) concentration of effect.
Comparative effects of estradiol-17β and estriol on uterine RNA polymerases I, II, and III in vivo

Abstract The early and later effects of estradiol-17β and estriol on the RNA polymerase activities of uterine nuclei obtained from ovariectomized rats were compared. At 4 hr of hormone action both estradiol-17β and estriol stimulated the activity of polymerase I, but not the activities of polymerases II and III. At 24 hr, however, the effect of estriol had disappeared, whereas estradiol-17β stimulated all three polymerase activities. These results indicate that estrogen-induced growth of the uterus occurs in two phases, initiation and maintenance. Estriol initiates uterine growth, but does not maintain the process. Estradiol-17β, in contrast, does both. The differences in the effects of the two estrogens may reside in their different binding affinities.
Kinematics of helical motion of microorganisms capable of motion with four degrees of freedom.

The kinematics of helical motion are described for an organism with four degrees of freedom, relative to the organism's frame of reference. It can rotate about any of three orthogonal axes, but can translate only in the direction of one axis. In particular, equations are developed for calculating the pitch, radius, and angular frequency of the helical path from the translational and rotational velocities of the microorganism, correcting, and expanding the analysis of Gray J. (1955. J. Exp. Biol. 32:775–801).
On the structural parameters and vibrational spectra of some XNCS and XSCN (X=H, F, Cl, Br) molecules

Abstract Ab initio calculations with full electron correlation by the perturbation method to second order and hybrid density functional theory calculations by the B3LYP method utilizing the 6-31G(d), 6-311+G(d,p), and 6-311+G(2d,2p) basis sets have been carried out for the XNCS and XSCN (X=H, F, Cl, Br) molecules. From these calculations, force constants, vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, Raman activities, depolarization ratios, and structural parameters have been determined and compared to the experimental quantities when available. By combining previously reported rotational constants for HNCS, ClSCN and BrSCN with the ab initio MP2/6-311+G(d,p) predicted parameters, adjusted r 0 parameters have been obtained. The structural parameters for isothiocyanic acid are: r (H–N)=0.996(5) A; r (N C)=1.208(3) A; r (C=S)=1.568(3) A; ∠HNC=132.0(5)°; ∠NCS=172.9(5)°. These reported angles have much lower uncertainties than those previously reported from the microwave data alone. The ab initio predicted barrier to molecular linearity of HNCS is 917±44 cm −1 which is in excellent agreement with the experimental value of 900±200 cm −1 . The r 0 parameters for ClSCN are: r (Cl–S)=2.023(5); r (S–C)=1.694(3); r (C N)=1.156(3) A; ∠ClSC=99.6(5) and ∠SCN=174.4(5)° and for BrSCN are: r (Br–S)=2.197(5); r (S–C)=1.681(3); r (C N)=1.158(3) A; ∠BrSC=99.5(5) and ∠SCN=174.7(5)°. Structural parameters are also estimated for HSCN and FSCN. The predicted frequencies for the fundamentals of HNCS and DNCS compare favorably to the experimental values but several of their predicted intensities differ significantly from the observed spectra. The frequencies for the reported bending modes of ClSCN and BrSCN do not agree with the predicted values and further experimental studies are needed for providing confident assignments for these fundamentals.
Mechanical Behavior of Microelectromechanical Microshutters

A custom micro-mechanical test system was constructed using off-the-shelf components to characterize the mechanical properties of microshutters. Microshutters are rectangular microelectromechanical apertures which open and close about a narrow torsion bar hinge. Displacement measurements were verified using both capacitive and digital image correlation techniques. Repeatable experiments on Si3N4 cantilever beams verified that the test system operates consistently. Using beam theory, the modulus of elasticity of the low stress Si3N4 was approximately 150 GPa, though significant uncertainty exists for this measurement due primarily to imprecise knowledge of the cantilever thickness. Tests conducted on microshutter arrays concluded that reducing the Si3N4 thickness from 250 nm to 500 nm reduces the torsional stiffness by a factor of approximately four. This is in good agreement with analytical and finite element models of the microshutters.
Statistical analysis of heavy metal concentrations from lake sediments

Abstract Clustering, multivariate and discriminant protocols have been utilized to analyze the data obtained from the analysis of aqueous sediments from some lakes surrounding a coal‐fired power plant. Metal concentrations were determined by atomic absorption methods. The large data accumulated were subjected to clustering techniques. Tree diagrams—dendrograms—and K‐means cluster were plotted from the reduced cluster data set to highlight the (dis)similarity pattern of metals among the lakes. Also presented are the correlations between the scavenging parameters—Fe, Mn, clay material and organic matter—and the metals Cd, Cu, and Zn. Furthermore, relationship between depth from surface and the metals at this initial time of study has been assessed.
Grain-size distribution in deforming subglacial tills: Role of grain fracture

New ways of looking at grain-size distributions may yield insights into sedimentary processes or environments. For example, during shearing of a granular material, alignments of grains, or bridges, develop with orientations such that compressive forces parallel to these alignments support most of the applied shear stress. If deformation is due to failure of such bridges by fracture, rather than by, say, dilation, the grain-size distribution will tend toward one that provides the maximum support for the grains. This size distribution is fractal and has a fractal dimension of 2.6. We analyzed the grain-size distribution of three deforming tills collected from beneath modern glaciers. The size distributions are fractal, and the mean fractal dimension is ∼2.9, suggesting an excess of fines. For comparison, grain-size distributions of samples from some other common sedimentary environments were also analyzed. Samples of dune sand and of glacial outwash were not fractal, but a debris-flow sample was, and had a fractal dimension of 2.8.
Using quantitative real-time PCR to study competition and community dynamics among Delaware Inland Bays harmful algae in field and laboratory studies

Abstract The Delaware Inland Bays (DIB) have experienced harmful algal blooms of dinoflagellates and raphidophytes in recent years. We used quantitative polymerase chain reaction (QPCR) techniques to investigate the community dynamics of three DIB dinoflagellates ( Karlodinium veneficum , Gyrodinium instriatum , and Prorocentrum minimum ) and one raphidophyte ( Heterosigma akashiwo ) at a single site in the DIB (IR-32) in summer 2006 relative to salinity, temperature and nutrient concentrations. We also carried out complementary laboratory culture studies. New primers and probes were developed and validated for the 18S rRNA genes in the three dinoflagellates. K. veneficum , H. akashiwo , and G. instriatum were present in almost all samples throughout the summer of 2006. In contrast, P. minimum was undetectable in late June through September, when temperatures ranged from 20 to 30 °C (average 25.7 °C). Dissolved nutrients ranged from 0.1 to 2.8 μM PO 4 3− (median = 0.3 μM), 0.7–30.2 μM NO x (median = 12.9 μM), and 0–19.4 μM NH 4 + (median = 0.7 μM). Dissolved N:P ratios covered a wide range from 2.6 to 177, with a median of 40. There was considerable variability in occurrence of the four species versus nutrients, but in general P. minimum and H. akashiwo were most abundant at higher (>40) N:P ratios and dissolved nitrogen concentrations, while K. veneficum and G. instriatum were most abundant at low dissolved N:P ratios ( K. veneficum , P. minimum , and H. akashiwo grown at dissolved N:P ratios of 5, 16, and 25. At an N:P of 16 and 25 P. minimum was the dominant alga at the end of the experiment, even at a temperature that was much higher than that at which this alga was found to bloom in the field (27 °C). P. minimum and H. akashiwo had highest densities in the N:P of 25. K. veneficum grew equally well at all three N:P ratios, and was co-dominant at times at an N:P of 5. H. akashiwo had the lowest densities of the three algae in the laboratory experiment. Laboratory and field results showed both interesting similarities and significant differences in the influences of important environmental factors on competition between these harmful algal species, suggesting the need for more work to fully understand HAB dynamics in the DIB.