cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
New social trails made during the pandemic increase fragmentation of an urban protected area

Abstract Urban protected areas are an important resource to people and wildlife, providing many ecosystem services. During the initial phase of the COVID-19 pandemic lockdown during March–June 2020, there was a major increase in the number of hikers and bicyclists in urban protected areas, including the Webster Woods in Newton, Massachusetts (USA), an 82.5-ha protected area. The Webster Woods is one of the largest protected areas near the center of Boston and is widely used in conservation textbooks as an example of the effects of habitat fragmentation on the amount of undisturbed habitat. Prior to the pandemic, the Webster Woods had been extensively fragmented by paved roads, dirt roads, and trails, with little interior habitat remaining. During the first four months of the pandemic, hikers and bicyclists made 4.9 km of new social (or informal) trails, an increase of 36%. This recent fragmentation represents a dramatic increase in the level of human impact on the area, reducing the amount of interior habitat from 3.2 to 2.1 ha. Levels of human activity returned to pre-pandemic levels in autumn 2020 and city officials have started closing access to some of the new trails, allowing vegetation to regrow. It is possible that similar increases in social trails and associated fragmentation have occurred in other protected areas (especially those in urban areas) around the world due to the pandemic, and these disturbances should be evaluated for their effects on plant and animal populations.
Impact of Informal Emotional Intelligence Training on Emotional Intelligence Levels of Nursing Students in an Associate Degree Nursing Program at a Community College

High levels of emotional intelligence (EI) have been shown to significantly benefit nursing students, however, there is conflicting evidence on whether EI can be developed without formal training. The purpose of this project was to assess the impact of informal EI training on associate degree nursing students. The Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) was used to assess the EI levels in a convenience sample of 98 first and final-semester associate degree nursing students enrolled in a large, public community college in Ohio. There were 42 first semester students and 56 post semester students that participated in the study. The only statistically significant difference in the groups’ demographics was the work status (p=.005) and campus (p=.041). There was no significant difference in the SSEIT scores of first-semester students (Md = 131, n = 42) and final-semester students (Md = 129, n = 56) (U = 1,103, z = -0.52, p = 0.602, r = -0.12). The results indicate that informal training had no impact on the EI scores of associate degree nursing students. Large, multi-institution research studies utilizing a randomized sample are warranted to confirm these findings.
Trafficking in Humans in Nigeria: A Major Socio-Cultural Problem

Trafficking in humans, especially in minors and young women, for the purpose of sexual exploitation is a worldwide problem. It plagues the United States as much as it does the underdeveloped nations of the world. The International Labor organization — the United Nations (UN) agency charged with addressing labor standards, employment, and social protection issues and United Nations’ report of 2002, estimated that between 12 and 17 million people are held in human slavery - forced and bonded labor, forced child labor, sexual and involuntary servitude worldwide, figures more than any at any other time in world history (International Labor Organization, 2002; U.S Department of State, 2002). The study examined the relationship between social cultural factors such as age, tribe, family structure, sexual abuse, physical abuse and trafficking in humans for the purpose of prostitution in Nigeria. Utilizing the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS), the statistical analysis of the secondary data of 60 records of victims of human trafficking for the purpose of prostitution selected from Women and Children Center in Nigeria was conducted. In the study, 80% of the participants in the sample reported that they had been sexually abused while 66.7% indicated that they have been physically abused. And the probability that victim of human trafficking would be sexually abused increases by 201% (Odds Ratio: 2.010)
USAID: Investing in Primary Education for the Sustainable Development of Pakistan

Human and educational development is a prerequisite for the socio-economic development of a country. Pakistan is struggling hard to enhance quality and access of primary education to children of all the regions. USAID’s partnership with local organizations and government has made gigantic efforts to raise level of equitable access to education particularly in less developed regions of the country through engagement in certain bilateral operations by providing assistance. Pakistan has multiple constraints in its educational sector; low budget, weak governance, corruption and insecurity. Since, it cannot overcome these obstacles without foreign assistance. This paper highlights the role and interventions of USAID in Pakistan for the improvement of primary education through secondary research methodology. Findings of the results shows that USAID has played a positive role in promoting the primary educational sector through improved curriculum, schools construction, teachers training and reduction in community specific barriers. Thus, it is concluded that USAID through its initiatives has driven towards fulfilling the gap in an efficient manner.
Early Literacy: The Empowerment of Technology

Casey's critically acclaimed work is revised here with the latest research and software developments that help you strengthen early literacy through the use of talking computers. Filled with exciting research results and anecdotal proof of the effectiveness of new teaching methods for the twenty-first century, it shows you how to boost literacy, especially among those with learning disabilities or oral/hands-on learning styles, as well as ESL students. Computers are being integrated in early literacy classrooms nationwide and around the world. Learn how you can use computers effectively to boost student learning and achievement in your classroom. Filled with exciting information, this book shows you how your classroom can become a part of meaningful literacy projects with other classrooms throughout the world. It also presents the important global research information needed by political teams, school boards, administrators, superintendents, and all parties involved in the vital decision-making process surrounding technology implementation. This revised edition of Casey's critically-acclaimed work includes data on how computers make a difference in the classroom as well as information on software that has been used successfully with children learning English as a second language.
Surfactant protein D is a divalent cation-dependent carbohydrate-binding protein.

Surfactant protein D (SP-D, CP4) is a collagenous surfactant-associated glycoprotein synthesized by lung type II epithelial cells. SP-D can be selectively and efficiently eluted from isolated rat surfactant with glucose, maltose, and certain other saccharides. We therefore examined the ability of the purified protein to interact with carbohydrates in vitro. Saccharide-substituted bovine serum albumins (BSA neoglycoproteins) were adsorbed to plastic wells, and binding of purified SP-D was quantified with monospecific antibodies to SP-D using an indirect immunoassay. SP-D showed specific calcium-dependent binding to alpha-D-glucosidophenyl isothiocyanate-BSA and maltosyl-BSA, but negligible binding to beta-D-glucosidophenyl isothiocyanate-BSA or unconjugated BSA. The most efficient inhibitors of SP-D binding were alpha-glucosyl-containing saccharides (e.g. isomaltose, maltose, malotriose). SP-D showed quantitative binding to maltosyl-agarose and was specifically eluted with maltose or EDTA. High affinity binding to maltosyl-BSA was also demonstrated using a solution-phase polyethylene glycol precipitation assay. These studies demonstrate that SP-D is a calcium dependent lectin-like protein and that the association of SP-D with surfactant is mediated by carbohydrate-dependent interactions with specificity for alpha-glucosyl residues.
Hybrid Position Force Control of Robot Manipulator with an Instrumented Compliant Wrist

A six DOF compliant wrist which combines passive compliance and active sensing has been developed to provide the necessary flexibility for force and contact control as well as being accurately controllable in position. This paper describes the compliant wrist and sensing mechanism design. Utilizing the sensed information from this wrist allows the apparent stiffness of the end-effector to be increased in unconstrained mode and decreased in constrained modes where the contact force is controlled. An active feedback control scheme for both position and force control is presented and the dynamic behavior of the system is analyzed. As the manipulator is partially constrained by the environment, a new hybrid control algorithm with consideration of passive compliance is proposed. The applicability of the method is demonstrated by experimental results. The entire system performance is analyzed under conditions with variable environment characteristics, controller parameters, and contact force, etc. A sinusoid surface tracking experiment was performed as an application of the hybrid control scheme and some useful results were obtained. The velocity discontinuity as the robot makes contact with, or breaks from, the environment is accommodated by the passive compliance of the wrist. The method shown is simple, economical, and applicable in industry.
The Soft X-ray Background

A survey of soft X-ray background observations in the 0.1–10 keV range is presented. In the region above 1 keV, recent results on point X-ray sources are discussed and their integrated contribution to the diffuse background is estimated. However, the average luminosity of various classes of extragalactic X-ray sources is still not sufficiently well known to permit this estimate to be made with any certainty. A discussion is given of recent observations at energies below 1 keV where the effects of interstellar absorption are important. It is argued that although some fraction of the background radiation in the 0.1–1 keV range must be galactic in origin, there is still substantial evidence for an extragalactic component. Proposed theories for generating both the galactic and extragalactic X-ray background are briefly reviewed.
Information Processing: Implications for Educators

(1990). Information Processing: Implications for Educators. The Clearing House: A Journal of Educational Strategies, Issues and Ideas: Vol. 64, No. 2, pp. 99-102.
The absence of relation between anxiety sensitivity and fear conditioning using 20% versus 13% CO2-enriched air as unconditioned stimuli

Anxiety sensitivity has been implicated as a risk factor in the development and maintenance of anxiety and fear-related disorders. Indeed, persons who score high on the anxiety sensitivity index (ASI) are generally more responsive to biological challenge procedures such as CO2-inhalation that directly evoke the feared bodily events. One would expect, therefore, that persons high on anxiety sensitivity should be more conditionable and hence more likely to acquire fears, than persons low on anxiety sensitivity when CO2-enriched air is used as an unconditioned stimulus (UCS). Undergraduates (N = 96), scoring high, medium and low on the ASI received 8 repeated 20-s inhalations of either 20 or 13% CO2-enriched air (UCSs) paired with one of three CSs differing in fear-relevance (snake, heart and flowers). Several autonomic and self-report measures were assessed. Contrary to expectation, electrodermal and cardiac conditioned responses failed to discriminate between ASI groups. Yet, SUDS and severity and frequency of DSM-IV panic symptoms varied reliably as a function of anxiety sensitivity. Overall, the findings suggest that anxiety sensitivity is related to subjective fear-related complaints, but not autonomic responding and conditionability. We discuss clinical and theoretical implications for understanding the place fo anxiety sensitivity in fear onset.
Using computerized routers to control product flow

An intelligent migrating process (IMP) is a process that may explicitly migrate to another machine to avail itself of that machine's capabilities. Between moves, an IMP may access any of the local resources of the current machine. The original motivation for the IMP concept was to route products through a factory. By using an IMP to represent each lot, it is possible to create an electronic analog of a paper router that can not only perform all the traditional router functions, but extends the router's functionality by allowing it to dynamically react to changes in the state of the factory. Specifically, the executable code comprising an IMP can contain the logic that permits the IMP to choose among processing alternatives or institute rework procedures based on the processing its lot has already received and the current state of the factory. This paper demonstrates the utility of the computerized router by describing an IMP application for routing wafers in a semiconductor fabrication facility. >
Productive vs. Pathological: The Contested Space of Video Games in Post-Reform China (1980s-2012)

This article analyzes the discourses of video games in post-reform China, explicating gaming technology as a contested space coproduced by various social players struggling for power and cultural legitimacy in the context of post-socialist transition. As an imported foreign technology, video games are often identified by various social forces as either a solution to or a cause of the contradictions and crises generated by reform, which produces a recurring dialectical representation of the medium as both productive and pathological. The contrasting fates of arcade and console games in the 1980s and the interplay between promotion and regulation of PC games in the 1990s led to the contemporary battle over Internet addiction and new definitions of pathology and productivity. Those seemingly contradictory cultural discourses constitute and reflect power struggles among different stakeholders over the meaning, form, and use of new technologies as China transitions from a socialist to a post-socialist society.
Mercy, Clemency, and the Case of Karla Faye Tucker

In 1998, Karla Faye Tucker became the first woman executed in Texas since the Civil War. Tucker's case was extraordinary both because of the extreme brutality of her crime and the dramatic religious conversion she experienced on death row. Her rehabilitation led to calls for mercy and clemency from an unlikely collection of supporters, including conservative religious figures not otherwise opposed to the death penalty. Tucker's supporters argued that she had become a "new person" who was no longer deserving of the ultimate punishment; that she was no longer eligible for the death penalty because she did not pose a danger to society; and that her execution represented a waste of a life that could still make a positive contribution to society. When then-Governor Bush denied Tucker clemency, her supporters concluded that he lacked mercy. Without taking a position on whether Tucker's life should have been taken or spared, this essay explores the grounds for mercy and clemency raised. The author argues that, on the most plausible account of American criminal law, Tucker's post-offense rehabilitation has little bearing on the punishment she deserves. Finally, the author examines the institution of executive clemency, suggesting that its exercise as an expression of traditional mercy as an act of princely grace is problematic in a liberal democratic society. Although a merciful disposition is an appropriate posture for any public official, the executive clemency power is a poor proxy for the virtue of mercy.
Disk-Sphere Transformation in Mammalian Red Cells

1. Experimental evidence has been presented to show that the sphering of mammalian red cells in saline suspension between new slide and cover-glass is a result of these two changes: (1) the p H of the suspension is raised over 9.2 by the alkaline effect of the glass; (2) the glass adsorbs out from the suspension a protein, which, if present, prevents sphering until a p H of about 11.3 is reached, but if absent allows sphering around a p H of 9.2. 2. Anti-sphering factor is contained by both serum and cells. It cannot be adequately removed from cells by washing them with saline, but it can be removed from them by absorption on clean glass surfaces. 3. Changes of cell shape occurring between slide and cover-glass may be duplicated in the bulk of a suspension. 4. The p H and amount of anti-sphering factor present also influence the intermediate crenated shapes between the disk and sphere shapes. 5. Substances from the skin which counteract the activity of the anti-sphering factor may be introduced into a suspension by shaking it against the palm of the hand. Oleic or palmitic acids in a suspension also counteracts the activity of the anti-sphering factor present. 6. Watery ghosts show a peculiar temporary sphering between new slide and cover-glass. 7. The disk-sphere transformation in the absence of anti-sphering factor is reversible. In repeated reversing of the transformation the biconcavities and particular crenations of any one cell always reappear on the same parts of the surface of that cell.
Effect of beta-adrenergic agents on intracellular potential of rabbit ciliary epithelium.

PURPOSE. To study the effects of s-adrenergic agents on intra-cellular potential (Vm) of the isolated and intact rabbit ciliary epithelium. METHODS. Vm was measured on the isolated intact ciliary epithelium superfused with adrenergic agents and cyclic AMP modulators. RESULTS. The nonselective s-adrenergic agonist isoproterenol depolarized Vm in a dose-dependent fashion. s-adrenergic antagonists alone had no effect on baseline Vm. The isoproterenol response was blocked by the nonselective antagonist timolol (5 × 10 -5 M). The selective s 2 -antagonist ICI 118-551 caused a greater inhibition (IC 50 ~7 × 10 -7) than the selective s 1 -antagonist betaxolol (IC 50 ~6 × 10 -6) . The isoproterenol response was also significantly (p < 0.03) blocked by the non-selective a-antagonist phentolamine. Cyclic AMP and phosphodiesterase inhibitors significantly decreased Vm. Pretreatment with these inhibitors potentiated the agonist-induced depolarization. Barium, a blocker of Ca 2+ -sensitive K + channels, significant...
A preliminary theoretical study of droplet extinction by depressurization

Depressurization-induced extinction of droplets is demonstrated using an unsteady liquid-phase theory and a previously presented quasisteady gas-phase model. Numerical results show that depressurization of the gas phase causes extinction of both regressing and nonregressing droplets. For nonregressing droplets it is found that at fixed droplet size the extinction pressure is a decreasing function of the initial depressurization rate; thus results are explained in terms of the time lag needed by a droplet to respond to a change in pressure. Regressing droplets, which extinguish more rapidly than constant-size ones, show the same type of behavior. Extinction boundaries, evaluated as functions of the initial temperature profile, show that whereas for constant-size droplets the extinction pressure is a strong decreasing function of the temperature, for regressing droplets this dependence is very weak and an asymptote is reached as the temperature increases. Results obtained by varying the initial pressure show that the extinction pressure is an increasing function of the initial pressure for regressing droplets. For constant-size droplets this function is nonmonotonic and reaches a maximum at the initial pressure for which the initial temperature profile is the wet-bulb state. The thermal conductivity of the liquid phase has almost no influence on the extinction boundary.
Circumplex Model of Marital Systems: An Empirical Study of Clinic and Non‐clinic Couples

The interaction processes of twenty-five couples receiving marriage counseling were compared with a control group of twenty-five couples not receiving counseling. The study was a partial test of a circumplex model of marital and family systems. The major variable was adaptability. Creativity and support were also examined. The study also sought to evaluate the usefulness of the principal instrument, SIMFAM, as a behavioral indicator of marital adjustment and an assessment tool for marriage and family counselors. Under stressful circumstances, there was evidence that better adjusted couples have a more equalitarian leadership (relative control) pattern. A combination of high support and equalitarian leadership was especially characteristic of NC (non-clinic) couples. NC couples were significantly more creative, more supportive and more responsive to each other's attempts to influence each other (control efficiency) than clinic couples.
Neuropil organization in the superior olive of the cat.

Abstract Golgi studies of the sagittally sectioned brain stem of the cat show that the longitudinal organization of the superior olive (medial or accessory, and lateral or S segment) differs markedly from that revealed by cross sections. Olivopetal fibers from the cochlear nuclei terminate in sheets of neuropil arranged parallel to the long axis of the stem. Each sheet appears to be made up of the terminal elaborations of several afferent fibers, partially overlapped. Olivary neurons lie embedded in these sheets, their longitudinally elaborated dendrite systems densely covered by plexus terminals. The characteristic flame-shaped arbors and elongated bipolar neurons familiar from previous histological studies, appear to represent the end-on view of an essentially two-dimensional neuropil system. Some putative functional consequences of this organizational pattern are discussed.
Conformational stability of the haloacetyl halides

Abstract The far-infrared spectra of a series of haloacetyl halides, CH2XC(O)X, in the vapour phase have been recorded at a resolution of 0-10cm−1 in the 350-35 cm−1 region. The fundamental asymmetric torsional frequencies of the more stable trans (two halogen atoms oriented trans to one another) and high-energy conformers have been observed. From these data the asymmetric torsional potential functions governing internal rotation about the C-C bond have been determined. Only fiuoroacetyl fluoride and fluoroacetyl chloride have the cis conformation for the high-energy form whereas all the other haloacetyl halides have the gauche conformation for the high-energy form. For those molecules in this series which have the gauche form as the high-energy rotamer the importance of using the value for the torsional dihedral angle in the determination of the potential function governing internal rotation is reviewed. It is shown how complete equilibrium geometries, which have been determined by ab initio Hartree-Fock...
The Limits of Right Ventricular Compensation Following Acute Increase in Pulmonary Circulatory Resistance

The ability of the right ventricle to compensate as the pulmonary artery is constricted appears to be determined by four major factors: (1) there occurs the well-known increased force of contraction as the right heart becomes distended; (2) the adequacy of the coronary circulation determines to a great extent the Degrees of pulmonary arterial constriction which can occur before failure occurs; (3) the circulatory reflexes apparently aid the compensation to a moderate extent; and (4) the greater the blood volume, the greater is the limit of compensation before right ventricular failure occurs.
Habitat associations of migrating and overwintering grassland birds in Southern Texas

We report on the habitat associations of 21 species of grassland birds overwintering in or migrating through southern Texas, during 1991-1992 and 1992-1993. Ninety percent of our grassland bird observations were made during winter and spring, and only 10% occurred during fall. Grassland species made up a high proportion of the total bird densities in grassland and shrub-grassland habitats, but much lower proportions in the habitats with more woody vegetation. Fewer grassland species were observed in grassland and woodland than in brushland, parkland, and shrub-grassland habitats. Grassland birds generally were found in higher densities in habitats that had woody canopy coverage of < 30%; densities of grassland birds were highest in shrub-grassland habitat and lowest in woodland habitat. Species that are grassland specialists on their breeding grounds tended to be more habitat specific during the nonbreeding season compared to shrub-grassland specialists, which were more general in their nonbreeding-habitat usage. Nonetheless, our data demonstrate that grassland birds occur in a variety of habitats during the nonbreeding season and seem to occupy a broader range of habitats than previously described.
The endogenous cannabinoid anandamide shares discriminative stimulus effects with ∆(9)-tetrahydrocannabinol in fatty acid amide hydrolase knockout mice.

Abstract The endogenous cannabinoid system has been noted for its therapeutic potential, as well as the psychoactivity of cannabinoids such as Δ9-tetrahydrocannabinol (THC). However, less is known about the psychoactivity of anandamide (AEA), an endocannabinoid ligand. Thus, the goals of this study were to establish AEA as a discriminative stimulus in transgenic mice lacking fatty acid amide hydrolase (i.e., FAAH −/− mice unable to rapidly metabolize AEA), evaluate whether THC or oleamide, a fatty acid amide, produced AEA-like responding, and assess for CB1 mediation of AEA's discriminative stimulus. Mice readily discriminated between 6 mg/kg AEA and vehicle in a two-lever drug discrimination task. AEA dose-dependently generalized to itself. THC elicited full AEA-like responding, whereas oleamide failed to substitute. The CB1 antagonist rimonabant attenuated AEA- and THC-induced AEA-appropriate responding, demonstrating CB1 mediation of AEA's discriminative stimulus. These findings suggest that, in the absence of FAAH, AEA produces intoxication comparable to THC, and consequently to marijuana.
The Perceptual Arc: Unraveling the Mysteries of Perception

Based in science, perception is viewed as an arc in which energies from objects in the environment are brought into the mind. Phenomenal objects are then “projected” as a purely mental process and perceived as being in the environment. The concept is supported by the writings of Locke and Kant. There are profound implications for the understanding of consciousness and subjective reality. In addition to the perceptual arc, there is brief peripheral discussion of the creation of qualities, synecdoche, and aspects of brain physiology leading to consciousness.
Statistical methods for cost-effectiveness analyses

A statistical framework is presented for examining cost and effect data on competing interventions obtained from an RCT or from an observational study. Parameters of the join distribution of costs and effects or a regression function linking costs and effects are used to define cost-effectiveness (c-e) measures. Several new c-e measures are proposed that utilize the linkage between costs and effects on the patient level. These measures reflect perspectives that are different from those of the commonly used measures, such as the ratio of expected cost to expected effect, and they can lead to different relative rankings of the interventions. The cost-effectiveness of interventions are assessed statistically in a two stage procedure that first eliminates clearly inferior interventions. Members of the remaining admissible set are then rank ordered according to a c-e preference measure. Statistical techniques, particularly in the multivariate normal case, are given for several commonly used c-e measures. These techniques provide methods for obtaining confidence intervals, for testing the hypothesis of admissibility and for the equality of interventions, and for ranking interventions. The ideas are illustrated for a hypothetical clinical trial of antipsychotic agents for community-based persons with mental illness.
Modeling Interdependent Consumer Preferences

Abstract A consumer’s preference for an offering can be influenced by the preferences of others in many ways, ranging from social identification and inclusion to the benefits of network externalities. In this article, the authors introduce a Bayesian spatial autoregressive discrete-choice model to study the preference interdependence among individual consumers. The autoregressive specification can reflect patterns of heterogeneity in which influence propagates within and across networks. These patterns cannot be modeled with standard random-effect specifications and can be difficult to capture with covariates in a linear model. The authors illustrate their model of interdependent preferences with data on automobile purchases and show that preferences for Japanese-made cars are related to geographically and demographically defined networks.
Concurrent VLSI Architectures

This tutorial paper addresses some of the principles and provides examples of concurrent architectures and designs that have been inspired by VLSI technology. The circuit density offered by VLSI provides the means for implementing systems with very large numbers of computing elements, while its physical characteristics provide an incentive to organize systems so that the elements are relatively loosely coupled. One class of computer architectures that evolve from this reasoning include an interesting and varied class of concurrent machines that adhere to a structural model based on the repetition of regularly connected elements. The systems included under this structural model range from 1) systems that combine storage and logic at a fine grain size, and are typically aimed at computations with images or storage retrieval, to 2) systems that combine registers and arithmetic at a medium grain size to form computational or systolic arrays for signal processing and matrix computations, to 3) arrays of instruction interpreting computers that use teamwork to perform many of the same demanding computations for which we use high-performance single process computers today.
Acute preoperative hemodilution in patients undergoing radical prostatectomy : A case study analysis of efficacy

Despite published guideline and consensus conference recommendations, the role of acute preoperative hemodilution in elective surgery has not been defined. We performed a case study analysis of this technique in a large surgical program in order to estimate its degree of efficacy as practiced routinely, and to better define its role as a blood conservation strategy. Patients undergoing elective radical prostatectomy by one surgeon during a 3-yr period were analyzed retrospectively for blood loss, hematocrit levels, records of acute hemodilution, and transfusion outcomes. Patient blood volumes were determined by nomogram; final hematocrits after discrete blood volumes lost by surgery or by hemodilution were estimated. Sixteen (4.4%) of 410 total patients reviewed underwent hemodilution, representing 0 (0%), 4 (3%), and 12 (8%) of the 112,146, and 152 patients undergoing surgery in years 1, 2, and 3, respectively. Median whole blood volume and mean red blood cell (RBC) volume removed by hemodilution was 1000 mL (range, 400–1500 mL) and 338 mL (range, 156–585 mL), respectively, representing 15% of patients' admission RBC volume. Net intraoperative RBC volume “saved” in losses by this technique was 95 mL (range, 25–204 mL), representing only 9.3% (range, 4%-17%) of total RBC volume lost during hospitalization. RBC volume removed by hemodilution constituted 34% (95–283 mL) of the total RBC volume transfused. We conclude that use of acute preoperative hemodilution remains in evolution and, as a single blood conservation intervention, contributes only modestly to blood conservation.
Agency, Resources, and Identity Lower-Income Women's Experiences in Damascus

Drawing on theories of structure and agency, this article assesses how women in lower-income households in Damascus use existing gender schemas to avoid unattractive employment and improve their access to income and employment. It highlights the overlapping effects of economic policy and gender dependency schemas on both the need for additional income and women's employment opportunities. While providing greater access to resources, women's accommodation to gender dependency schemas also helps to maintain domesticity and dependence on men. Agency for these women draws on and reinforces a collectively gendered sense of self that is central to the process of both obtaining resources and doing gender.
Land-based exercise for knee osteoarthritis: recommendations for informing practice

Invited commentary on: ‘A systematic review to determine the optimal type and dosage of land-based exercises for treating knee osteoarthritis′ Smith, Kirby and Davies.As a leading cause of disabili...
The convergence of shooting methods

Shooting methods for nonlinear boundary value problems are examined. It is shown that the methods converge whenever the problem is well posed in the sense that the solution to be computed is isolated.
Discordant effects of anti–VLA-4 treatment before and after onset of relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis

Initial migration of encephalitogenic T cells to the central nervous system (CNS) in relapsing experimental autoimmune encephalomyelitis (R-EAE), an animal model of multiple sclerosis (MS), depends on the interaction of the α4 integrin (VLA-4) expressed on activated T cells with VCAM-1 expressed on activated cerebrovascular endothelial cells. Alternate homing mechanisms may be employed by infiltrating inflammatory cells after disease onset. We thus compared the ability of anti–VLA-4 to regulate proteolipid protein (PLP) 139-151–induced R-EAE when administered either before or after disease onset. Preclinical administration of anti–VLA-4 either to naive recipients of primed encephalitogenic T cells or to mice 1 week after peptide priming, i.e., before clinical disease onset, inhibited the onset and severity of clinical disease. In contrast, Ab treatment either at the peak of acute disease or during remission exacerbated disease relapses and increased the accumulation of CD4+ T cells in the CNS. Most significantly, anti–VLA-4 treatment either before or during ongoing R-EAE enhanced Th1 responses to both the priming peptide and endogenous myelin epitopes released secondary to acute tissue damage. Collectively, these results suggest that treatment with anti–VLA-4 Ab has multiple effects on the immune system and may be problematic in treating established autoimmune diseases such as MS.
Uranium determinations in deep-sea sediments and natural waters using fission tracks

Abstract Uranium determinations by induced fission track analysis were done rapidly utilizing a discharge counter instead of visual counting. Sediments, rocks, freeze-dried river salts (with Na 2 CO 3 carrier) and one freeze-dried sea salt were analyzed by this technique. Comparisons with samples whose uranium concentrations were determined independently indicate that the method is accurate. The uranium concentration in deep-sea sediments varies widely with oceanic depth and depth in the core ranging from 0.5–40 ppm U on a calcium carbonate-free basis. Seventeen river water samples range between
A Review of Child and Adolescent Diagnostic Interviews for Clinical Practitioners

The publication of the DSM-5 poses a challenge for many interview instruments due to the changes for many of the diagnoses. Six of the more widely used and studied interview instruments (structured and semistructured) were reviewed with a focus on usefulness for the practicing clinician and researcher. Use of these types of assessment procedures can facilitate the accuracy of diagnoses given by potentially reducing clinician bias. Each interview instrument varied in its strengths and characteristics related to amount of flexibility associated with administration of items; breadth of coverage of diagnoses based on DSM-IV; time required for administration; presence of screening items or modular format; and psychometric support for its reliability and validity, as well as amount of training required for use, and costs associated with acquiring and learning the format. Recommendations were made regarding the utilization of different instruments for specific diagnostic questions along with future recommendations for enhancing the format and utility of these instruments, especially in relation to the publication of the DSM-5.
Mechanism-guided design of flow systems for multicomponent reactions: conversion of CO2 and olefins to cyclic carbonates

A mechanism-guided design of a multi-step flow system enabled an efficient general process for the synthesis of cyclic carbonates from alkenes and CO2. The flow system proved to be an ideal platform for multicomponent reactions because it was straightforward to introduce reagents at specific stages without their interacting with each other or with reaction intermediates prone to destruction by them. This system exhibited superior reactivity, increased yield, and broader substrate scope relative to conventional batch conditions and suppressed the formation of undesired byproducts, such as, epoxides and 1,2-dibromoalkanes.
Face-ing Immigration: Prosopopeia and the “Muslim-Arab-Middle Eastern” Other

This essay complements and complicates research on immigration discourse by intersecting two post-humanist understandings of “face.” Analyzing post-9/11 news media's enfacements of the “Muslim-Arab-Middle Eastern immigrant,” I employ the works of Paul de Man and Emmanuel Levinas to explicate, on one hand, the inscription of subjectivity onto alterity, and, on the other, the slippage of this inscription. I demonstrate that figurations of immigrants rely on the tandem rhetorical operations of apostrophe and prosopopeia, the giving of voice and face. Public rhetorics impose a mask, an intelligible signifier onto the unknowable Other. Inevitably, however, alterity speaks, and “face” in another sense breaks through; the mask that mediates immigrants in public culture is exceeded. The essay concludes with implications for a posthumanist immigration ethics, not motivated by a personal commitment to the Other, but discoverable in the Leviansian conversation and the “experience” of exposedness.
PTH expands short-term murine hemopoietic stem cells through T cells

Intermittent parathyroid hormone (iPTH) treatment expands hemopoietic stem and progenitor cells (HSPCs), but the involved mechanisms and the affected HSPC populations are mostly unknown. Here we show that T cells are required for iPTH to expand short-term HSPCs (ST-HSPCs) and improve blood cell engraftment and host survival after BM transplantation. Silencing of PTH/PTH-related protein receptor (PPR) in T cells abrogates the effects of iPTH, thus demonstrating a requirement for direct PPR signaling in T cells. Mechanistically, iPTH expands ST-HSPCs by activating Wnt signaling in HSPCs and stromal cells (SCs) through T-cell production of the Wnt ligand Wnt10b. Attesting to the relevance of Wnt10b, iPTH fails to expand ST-HSPCs in mice with Wnt10b−/− T cells. Moreover, iPTH fails to promote engraftment and survival after BM transplantation in Wnt10b null mice. In summary, direct PPR signaling in T cells and the resulting production of Wnt10b play a pivotal role in the mechanism by which iPTH expands ST-HSPCs. The data suggest that T cells may provide pharmacologic targets for HSPC expansion.
Nanopillars for bandgap engineering in III-V optoelectronic devices

The absorption or emission wavelength in optoelectronic devices such as quantum well infrared photodetectors, quantum cascade lasers, and type II superlattice photodiodes can be controlled by the thickness and composition of the quantum wells that constitute their active layers. By further confining the charge carriers, for instance in a quantum dot, even more control can be gained over energy transitions within the semiconductor crystal. We propose a method for manipulating the semiconductor band structure by confining carriers within nanopillar structures. Using electron beam lithography and dry plasma etching, we can precisely control the pillar placement, density and dimensions, and thus the performance characteristics, of the optoelectronic device. Furthermore, by patterning different size structures, it is possible to create arrays of multi-color devices on the same substrate, a technique that lends itself to large-scale monolithic integration. We demonstrate the fabrication of nanopillar arrays in the GaSb, GaInP, GaInAs, and type II InAs/GaSb superlattice material systems and show initial photoluminescence data, which seems to indicate quantum confinement within these structures.
High Tech Entrepreneurs in Small Towns

A focus on local enterprises has increasingly become an alternative to branch plant recruiting in economic development efforts. In addition, high tech manufacturing has also attracted community interest. This paper examines new (since 1976), locally owned and locally started high tech manufacturing plants in the rural West. The objective is to provide information on what communities can expect of these firms and to suggest possible strategies to enhance the success of rural entrepreneurs. The founders of the firms in this study were relatively young, self-financed, and experienced as owners, managers, or technicians/engineers. They located in towns because they had lived there previously or liked the natural amenities. Their chosen locations had distinct characteristics–larger towns near urban areas or areas high in natural amenities and/ or near universities. Little activity was found in small, isolated communities with few natural amenities.
Enhancing School Counselor Preparation for Work with LGBTQ Students: Developmental Strategies and Interventions

Hostile and unsafe learning environments persist for many lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and questioning (LGBTQ) students. Professional school counselors are uniquely positioned to spearhead systemic initiatives to create safe and supportive schools that combat such oppression; however, current counselor education strategies may fail to adequately prepare school counseling trainees for this role. Cognitive developmental theory offers a pedagogical framework to assist counselor educators in conceptualizing school counseling trainees’ meaning-making positions and scaffolding matched interventions to enhance preparation toward LGBTQ affirmative counseling. A theoretical overview is provided, including the relationship of advanced cognitive development to school counselor competence, as well as samples of didactic, experiential, and reflection strategies counselor educators may employ to promote cognitive growth.
Structure of the DNA Repair Enzyme Endonuclease IV and Its DNA Complex: Double-Nucleotide Flipping at Abasic Sites and Three-Metal-Ion Catalysis

Abstract Endonuclease IV is the archetype for a conserved apurinic/apyrimidinic (AP) endonuclease family that primes DNA repair synthesis by cleaving the DNA backbone 5′ of AP sites. The crystal structures of Endonuclease IV and its AP–DNA complex at 1.02 and 1.55 A resolution reveal how an α 8 β 8 TIM barrel fold can bind dsDNA. Enzyme loops intercalate side chains at the abasic site, compress the DNA backbone, bend the DNA ∼90°, and promote double-nucleotide flipping to sequester the extrahelical AP site in an enzyme pocket that excludes undamaged nucleotides. These structures suggest three Zn 2+ ions directly participate in phosphodiester bond cleavage and prompt hypotheses that double-nucleotide flipping and sharp bending by AP endonucleases provide exquisite damage specificity while aiding subsequent base excision repair pathway progression.
Angiosarcoma of the Scalp and Face The Mayo Clinic Experience

Importance The etiology and optimal treatment are unknown for angiosarcoma, an aggressive malignant tumor that affects vascular endothelial cells and can be mistaken for benign lesions such as hemangioma. Objective To determine the treatment outcomes of patients with angiosarcoma of the face or scalp treated with a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Design, Setting, and Participants Retrospective study of 55 patients with angiosarcoma of the face or scalp treated between January 1, 1973, and December 31, 2012, at a tertiary-care academic medical institution. Interventions Surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Main Outcomes and Measures Locoregional control (LRC), recurrence-free survival (RFS), and overall survival (OS). Results Fifty-five patients had angiosarcoma localized to the face or scalp. Forty of these patients (73%) received a combination of surgery, radiation therapy, and/or chemotherapy. Eight patients (15%) were treated with surgery alone, 1 (2%) with radiation alone, 5 (9%) with chemotherapy alone, and 1 (2%) with observation alone. Median (range) follow-up for surviving patients was 25.2 (4.7-227.1) months. Five-year LRC, RFS, and OS (95% CI) were 18% (7%-32%), 16% (6%-31%), and 38% (21%-54%), respectively. Of 36 patients with failed treatment, 34 had failure in a local and/or regional site. On univariate analysis, the use of multimodality therapy (vs no multimodality therapy) was associated with higher 5-year LRC (95% CI) (20% [3%-37%] vs 11% [0%-29%]; P = .04), higher RFS (19% [2%-36%] vs 10% [0%-27%]; P = .02), and higher OS (46% [26%-66%] vs 16% [0%-43%]; P = .04). Age 70 years or older (vs P = .02) and lower RFS (5% [0%-13%] vs 49% [24%-75%]; P = .04). Radiation therapy (vs no radiation therapy) was associated with higher 5-year LRC (95% CI) (20% [3%-36%] vs 12% [0%-32%]; P = .02) and higher RFS (19% [2%-35%] vs 12% [0%-31%]; P = .004). On multivariable analysis, age younger than 70 years (vs ≥70 years) was associated with improved 5-year LRC (95% CI) (48% [23%-74%] vs 5% [0%-14%]; P = .03) and RFS (49% [24%-75%] vs 49% [24%-75%]; P = .04). Conclusions and Relevance Multimodality therapy for angiosarcoma is associated with improved LRC, RFS, and OS. Younger patients with resectable disease undergoing multimodality therapy for angiosarcoma had the best clinical outcomes.
Opposing positive and negative regulation of T cell activity during viral persistence

Vigorous T cell responses are crucial for the control of viral infections. However, in some instances antiviral T cell responses are suppressed resulting in viral persistence. The loss of T cell function is regulated by a variety of host-based immunosuppressive factors that directly inhibit antiviral immunity and prevent viral clearance. Nevertheless, residual levels of T cell activity are actively sustained to exert an important degree of control over persistent virus replication. How T cells are differentially regulated in response to persistent infection and the positive and negative signals that result in these divergent functional responses are just now beginning to come to light. Unraveling this complex dual counter-regulation of T cell responses during persistent virus infection will provide valuable insight toward the development of therapies to overcome immune suppression and stimulate T cell responses to eliminate persistent viral replication. In this review we will highlight this emerging field and discuss the complex interplay between immune-modulatory factors that suppress and sustain antiviral immunity to control and in some instances eliminate persistent viral replication.