cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Zebra fish cassiopeia Mutant Reveals that SIL Is Required for Mitotic Spindle Organization

A critical step in cell division is formation of the mitotic spindle, which is a bipolar array of microtubules that mediates chromosome separation. Here, we report that the SCL-interrupting locus (SIL), a vertebrate-specific cytosolic protein, is necessary for proper mitotic spindle organization in zebrafish and human cells. A homozygous lethal zebrafish mutant, cassiopeia (csp), was identified by a genetic screen for mitotic mutant. csp mutant embryos have an increased mitotic index, have highly disorganized mitotic spindles, and often lack one or both centrosomes. These phenotypes are caused by a loss-of-function mutation in zebrafish sil. To determine if the requirement for SIL in mitotic spindle organization is conserved in mammals, we generated an antibody against human SIL, which revealed that SIL localizes to the poles of the mitotic spindle during metaphase. Furthermore, short hairpin RNA knockdown of SIL in human cells recapitulates the zebrafish csp mitotic spindle defects. These data, taken together, identify SIL as a novel, vertebrate-specific regulator of mitotic spindle assembly.
Fluoride Redeposition and Retention during Bone Turnover in Lactating Rats

The ability of the adult skeleton to retain fluoride (F) during times of Ca stress was assessed in lactating rats. Rats incorporated F into their skeletons throughout growth by consumption of water containing 50 ppm F from weaning to 11 weeks of age. The rats were then changed to a low-F intake and mated. At delivery, nine dams were killed as a baseline group, and 20 dams were fed a low-F diet plus distilled water during lactation. Half of the rats were subjected to the additional stress of a low-Ca intake to stimulate bone resorption. F loss was determined during lactation. Bone turnover was measured by the loss of previously incorporated tritiated tetracycline (3H-TC), and changes in bone Ca and F contents were compared with changes in 3H-TC content. The extent of bone resorption ranged from 16.5% in the humerus of the adequate-Ca group to 77.1% in the vertebrae of Ca-deficient dams. Loss of bone F was greatest in animals with greatest loss of 3H-TC. Once F was resorbed from bone, only a relatively small portion was redeposited (0-31.4%). The low extent of F redeposition appears to be related to a low Ca deposition in lactating rats.
Undergraduate Research: Experiences from a Three-Year Project

Undergraduates receive many benefits from participation in research activities, including exposure to advanced topics, introduction to research methods, and direct interaction with faculty and other students. Faculty and institutions benefit as well — fresh eyes in research projects, more energized research groups, and more engaged alumni. However, there are some challenges in designing a research program to work primarily with undergraduates. These include the students’ lack of exposure to advanced topics, short tenure on the project, and potentially lower commitment to the results. There are a number of ways to address these concerns, however. Short student tenure and limited student experience may be offset by breaking up a long-term project into manageable short-term chunks, identifying specific deliverables for each student, and implementing a rigorous data reporting and storage system. Student motivation may be enhanced by linking performance to grades or to an external competition. This paper presents results of using these and other techniques in a multi-disciplinary vehicle sensing research project involving sixteen undergraduates over a three-year period. Although individual student time on the project ranged from only three to twelve months, all students were able to contribute to the project. Student activities were grouped into individual and small group tasks, each with specific goals and timetables. Rigorous electronic documentation and data storage techniques were employed to enable new students to come up-to-speed quickly. A mix of course credits, supplemental pay, and an intercollegiate competition were used to maintain student motivation. Project successes include high student satisfaction, conference papers, a demonstration pre-crash sensing system, and participation in an international student competition.Copyright © 2007 by ASME
BMP signaling in the control of skin development and hair follicle growth

Bone morphogenetic proteins (BMPs), their antagonists, and BMP receptors are involved in controlling a large number of biological functions including cell proliferation, differentiation, cell fate decision, and apoptosis in many different types of cells and tissues during embryonic development and postnatal life. BMPs exert their biological effects via using BMP–Smad and BMP–MAPK intracellular pathways. The magnitude and specificity of BMP signaling are regulated by a large number of modulators operating on several levels (extracellular, cytoplasmic, nuclear). In developing and postnatal skin, BMPs, their receptors, and BMP antagonists show stringent spatio-temporal expressions patterns to achieve proper regulation of cell proliferation and differentiation in the epidermis and in the hair follicle. Genetic studies assert an essential role for BMP signaling in the control of cell differentiation and apoptosis in developing epidermis, as well as in the regulation of key steps of hair follicle development (initiation, cell fate decision, cell lineage differentiation). In postnatal hair follicles, BMP signaling plays an important role in controlling the initiation of the growth phase and is also involved in the regulation of apoptosis-driven hair follicle involution. However, additional efforts are required to fully understand the mechanisms and targets involved in the realization of BMP effects on distinct cell population in the skin and hair follicle. Progress in this area of research will hopefully lead to the development of new therapeutic approaches for using BMPs and BMP antagonists in the treatment of skin and hair growth disorders.
Developing a standardized cephalometric vocabulary: choices and possible strategies.

The science of cephalometry has been invaluable for guiding orthodontic diagnosis, treatment planning, and outcomes tracking. Though software packages easily calculate most cephalometric measurements, the ability to exchange cephalometric data bet ween software packages is poorly developed. Hindering this effort is the lack of an agreed-upon standard for electronic exchange of cephalometric measurements. Unlike more technological issues, the problem of creating such a standard is one of formalizing decisions already established through historical precedent. Solving this problem will require education, cooperation, and consensus in order to reap the potential improvements to patient care, dental education, and research. The first step in overcoming these remaining issues is awareness. This article reviews those factors that place cephalometric measurements in an excellent position for standardization, outlines those decisions that must be made in order to realize the goal of electronic exchange of cephalometric information, and describes some of the options for these decisions as well as some advantages and disadvantages of each.
Occultation of the Bright Star Regulus by Venus

This occultation was observed and timed visually early in the afternoon of 7 July, in Madrid, Spain. The duration of the occultation was 11 minutes, 4.4 seconds, and mid-occultation occurred at 14 hours, 25 minutes, 9 seconds U.T. Over 600 individual photographs, which define the relative positions of Venus and Regulus, were obtained.
Human Tongue Neuroanatomy: Nerve Supply and Motor Endplates

The human tongue has a critical role in speech, swallowing, and respiration, however, its motor control is poorly understood. Fundamental gaps include detailed information on the course of the hypoglossal (XII) nerve within the tongue, the branches of the XII nerve within each tongue muscle, and the type and arrangement of motor endplates (MEP) within each muscle. In this study, five adult human tongues were processed with Sihler's stain, a whole-mount nerve staining technique, to map out the entire intra-lingual course of the XII nerve and its branches. An additional five specimens were microdissected into individual muscles and stained with acetylcholinesterase and silver staining to study their MEP morphology and banding patterns. Using these techniques the course of the entire XII nerve was mapped from the main nerve to the smallest intramuscular branches. It was found that the human tongue innervation is extremely dense and complex. Although the basic mammalian pattern of XII is conserved in humans, there are notable differences. In addition, many muscle fibers contained multiple en grappe MEP, suggesting that they are some variant of the highly specialized slow tonic muscle fiber type. The transverse muscle group that comprises the core of the tongue appears to have the most complex innervation and has the highest percentage of en grappe MEP. In summary, the innervation of the human tongue has specializations not reported in other mammalian tongues, including nonhuman primates. These specializations appear to allow for fine motor control of tongue shape.
SCRATCH HARDNESS TESTS OF CERAMIC MATERIALS1

Three sets of standards were prepared: (1) a set of minerals according to Mohs'Scale, (2) a set of steel samples, and (3) a set of Carboloy (tungsten carbide alloy) samples. The sets of standards were compared with each other according to their scratch hardness. Specimens of ceramic materials were then measured for scratch hardness with each set of standards. The results are compared.
Regulation of Mineral Redistribution in Pod-Bearing Soybean Explants

On the way from the roots to the seeds during reproductive development in soybean (Glycine max), a large proportion of the minerals pass through the leaves rather than travelling directly via the xylem. This direct and indirect mineral nutrients has important implications for mineral redistribution, seed development and leaf senescence. Therefore, we have studied the role of cytokinin and mineral flux from the roots in regulating mineral redistribution from the leaves to the seeds using explants, i.e. a leaf, a pod and a subtending stem segment, with their bases immersed in treatment solutions
Accessible information in three pure mirror-symmetric qubit states

We formulate an expression for the accessible information in mirror-symmetric ensembles of real qubit states. This expression is used to make a detailed study of optimum quantum measurements for extracting the accessible information in three-state, mirror-symmetric ensembles. Distinct measurement regimes are identified for these ensembles with optimal measurement strategies involving different numbers of measurement operators, similar to results found for minimum error discrimination. Our results generalize known results for the accessible information in two pure states and in the trine ensemble.
Mitigating the Impact of Process Variations on Processor Register Files and Execution Units

Design variability due to die-to-die and within-die process variations has the potential to significantly reduce the maximum operating frequency and the effective yield of high-performance microprocessors in future process technology generations. One serious manifestation of this increased variability is a reduction in the mean frequency of fabricated chips due to fluctuations in device characteristics causing reduced circuit performance. In this paper, we propose to mitigate the impact of variations through variablelatency register files and execution units which are key architectural components that may encounter variability problems. We also illustrate the importance of closing the gap in expected delay of these distinct structures. A post fabrication test and configuration strategy is proposed. We find that 23% mean frequency improvement with an average IPC loss of 3% (and never exceeding 5% for worst case chips) is possible for the 65nm technology node by properly adopting the proposed schemes.
A union of deterministic and stochastic methods for image reconstruction

A reconstruction approach which combines the optimality of the EM (expectation maximization) maximum likelihood algorithm with the robustness of the FBP (filtered backprojection) algorithm has been formulated. This approach produces high-resolution reconstructions and requires only fractional computation time as compared to maximum likelihood reconstruction. Reconstructions from a patient study are presented. >
Phase-amplitude investigation of spontaneous low-frequency oscillations of cerebral hemodynamics with near-infrared spectroscopy: a sleep study in human subjects.

Abstract We have investigated the amplitude and phase of spontaneous low-frequency oscillations (LFOs) of the cerebral deoxy- and oxy-hemoglobin concentrations ([Hb] and [HbO]) in a human sleep study using near-infrared spectroscopy (NIRS). Amplitude and phase analysis was based on the analytic signal method, and phasor algebra was used to decompose measured [Hb] and [HbO] oscillations into cerebral blood volume (CBV) and flow velocity (CBFV) oscillations. We have found a greater phase lead of [Hb] vs. [HbO] LFOs during non-REM sleep with respect to the awake and REM sleep states (maximum increase in [Hb] phase lead: ~ π/2). Furthermore, during non-REM sleep, the amplitudes of [Hb] and [HbO] LFOs are suppressed with respect to the awake and REM sleep states (maximum amplitude decrease: 87%). The associated cerebral blood volume and flow velocity oscillations are found to maintain their relative phase difference during sleep, whereas their amplitudes are attenuated during non-REM sleep. These results show the potential of phase-amplitude analysis of [Hb] and [HbO] oscillations measured by NIRS in the investigation of hemodynamics associated with cerebral physiology, activation, and pathological conditions.
Siltuximab for multicentric Castleman disease

Dysregulated secretion of IL-6 plays a pivotal role in the pathogenesis of Castleman disease (CD), a rare lymphoproliferative disorder. In contrast to unicentric CD for which surgery is considered the treatment of choice, there is no standard therapeutic approach for multicentric CD (MCD). Siltuximab (trade name: Sylvant, formerly known as CNTO 328) is a chimeric monoclonal antibody with high binding affinity for human IL-6. In a recent randomized placebo-controlled Phase II trial, subjects with HIV-negative, HHV8-negative MCD who received siltuximab demonstrated a significantly higher rate of durable tumor and symptomatic response with a tolerable safety profile, leading to its approval for the treatment of HIV-negative HHV8-negative MCD by the US FDA and the European Commission in April and May 2014, respectively. This article will cover the current treatment options of MCD, the drug profile of siltuximab and future directions in the management of MCD.
The impact of foster care on development.

Foster care is a protective intervention designed to provide out of home placement to children living in at-risk home environments. This study employs prospective longitudinal data ~N 189! to investigate the effects of foster care on the development of child behavior and psychological functioning taking into account baseline adaptation prior to placement and socioeconomic status at the time of placement. Comparisons were made among three groups: children who experienced foster care, those who were maltreated but remained in the home, and children who had not experienced foster care or maltreatment despite their similarly at-risk demographic characteristics. In the current sample, children placed in out of home care exhibited significant behavior problems in comparison to children who received adequate care, and using the same pre- and postplacement measure of adaptation, foster care children showed elevated levels of behavior problems following release from care. Similarly, children placed into unfamiliar foster care showed higher levels of internalizing problems compared with children reared by maltreating caregivers, children in familiar care, and children who received adequate caregiving. Findings suggest that outcomes related to foster care may vary with type of care and beyond the effects associated with maltreatment history, baseline adaptation, and socioeconomic status.
Phenyliodonium 4,4‐Dimethyl‐2,6‐dioxocyclohexylide

[35024-12-5],[81447-29-2] C14H15IO2 (MW 342.18) InChI = 1S/C14H15IO2/c1-14(2)8-11(16)13(12(17)9-14)15-10-6-4-3-5-7-10/h3-7H,8-9H2,1-2H3 InChIKey = IERLOSGMYPXIOS-UHFFFAOYSA-N (reagent used for 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition, CH insertion, cyclopropanation, oxidative carbonylation, aryl fluorination, and thermal rearrangement reactions) Physical Data: mp 129–130 °C, decomposes upon heating. Solubility: insoluble in H2O, soluble in DMSO, chlorinated organic solvents such as dichloromethane, and insoluble in most other organic solvents, including ether, acetone, benzene, and ethyl acetate. Reagent will decompose in protic organic solvents. Form Supplied in: white or slightly yellow granules. Purification: the crude solid is triturated with hexanes followed by simple filtration. Handling, Storage, and Precautions: avoid exposure to moist air, water, and temperatures above 130 °C. The ylide is stable at −30 °C for a prolonged period of time. The ylide isomerizes into the corresponding iodo-ether upon heating in various solvents. Store under inert atmosphere, refrigerated, in a tightly closed container. No information is available on the carcinogenicity, teratogenicity, mutagenicity, and neurotoxicity. Phenyliodonium 4,4-dimethyl-2,6-dioxocyclohexylide is not listed by the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC). Preparation: prepared in 90% yield by reacting a solution of 5,5-dimethyl-1,3-cyclohexanedione and iodobenzene diacetate in dichloromethane at room temperature for 2–3 h. Subsequently, the dichloromethane solution is washed with aqueous 5% KOH and brine. The combined organic layers are dried with magnesium sulfate, filtered, and evaporated to dryness. This method provides a general route for the synthesis of iodonium ylides from 1,3-dicarbonyl compounds.
The Need for Involuntary Medication in Competency to Stand Trial Proceedings: A Necessary Work in Progress

The recent United States Supreme Court decision in Sell v. United States has reignited the debate regarding involuntary medication of defendants for the purposes of restoration to competence to stand trial. While the Court did not provide any momentum for either side of this debate, its decision in essence continued to allow such a practice under specific conditions. The purpose of this commentary is to offer a reasoned approach to understanding the need to involuntarily medicate certain defendants in an effort to balance the rights of the individual against the rights of society. The commentary emphasizes the need for mental health professionals to focus on their duty to advise any client, including the court, of medically appropriate treatment including medication trials.
Effects of personality styles, gender and year in training on coping styles and health-related behaviors in medical residents.

Prior literature has described many stressful aspects of medical internship and residency training(Adler, Werner, amp; Korsch 1980; Green 1986; Cousins 1981; Bergman 1988; Hoekelman 1989). Although house staff experience similar demands in training, some house officers respond with more distress than others. It appears that some house staff may be more vulnerable to stress than their peers (Gabbard 1985; Reuben 1985; Smith, Andrasik, amp; Quinn 1988). Hence individual differences are an important consideration in understanding the impact of residency training demands on house officers abilities to effectively manage work-related stress. The present study describes the influence of personality styles, gender and year in training, on coping styles and health-related behaviors in 191 first, second and third year house officers in two specialties: pediatrics and internal medicine. Residents who experienced higher subjective distress reported more physical symptoms, less adequate self-health care and more use of potentially maladaptive coping strategies (e.g., denial and disengagement) than residents who demonstrated lower distress. Higher distressed residents were also rated by their chief residents as more frequently ill and more dissatisfied with their personal life. Significant differences were also observed be tween male and female residents and between first, second and third year residents. Female residents reported being more highly distressed and using more emotional and social support coping strategies than male residents. Female residents were also rated as more dissatisfied, angry and depressed than their male colleagues. First year residents were found to be less prepared for medical residency demands than their more advance peers. They reported less adequate self-health care practices and were rated as having lower overall competency by their chief residents compared with third year residents. The findings of this study suggest a need for further research on individual differences in personality subgroups, such as higher distressed residents, female residents and first year residents which may predict physical and psychological vulnerabilities. Research needs to go beyond examining "typical" responses to stress and suggest subgroups to identify for more specific evaluations and interventions, such as monitoring the highly distressed resident for depressive symptomatology or forming a support group for female residents.
EXPERIMENTAL INCISION ON THE CADAVER FOR DRAINAGE OF THE ANKLE JOINT

For the purpose of simplicity, the ankle joint may be divided into two compartments by an imaginary line passing transversely through the center of the malleoli. The posterior compartment is formed by the posterior surface of the trochlea, the anterior being formed by the relaxation of the anterior ligament over the neck of the astragalus. In thirteen experiments on thirteen ankle joints of the cadaver, it seemed to be proved that the posterior external approach was a reliable approach and a safe one, as far as encountering important structures is concerned. The joint cavity is easily accessible by this route, and with the foot dorsi-flexed to a right angle, evacuation of the fluid was complete.
Wave Force Coefficients for Offshore Pipelines

Drag and lift force co efficients due to wave action on pipe lines with circular and trapezoidal cross sections are evaluated for case in which they are in contact with smooth, hard surfaced ocean floor; special consideration given to phenomenon of oscillatory motion characteristic of wave action; combined lift and drag force coefficient is approximately same for circular or trapezoidal cross section; lift forces can be greatly reduced if pipe contours with sharp corners and straight walls are utilized.
Soluble fiber enhances the hypocholesterolemic effect of the step I diet in childhood.

Psyllium, a water-soluble fiber, has been shown to have a cholesterol-lowering effect in studies of adults. A small number of studies in children have produced variable results.A 12-week, randomized, single-blind, placebo-controlled, parallel clinical trial was conducted to test the effectiveness of psyllium in lowering total (TC) and low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) in 50 healthy 2 to 11 year old children. Children with two baseline LDL-C levels > or = 110 mg/dL were invited to participate in the trial, and were randomly assigned to follow a usual Step I (Control) diet of low dietary fat, saturated fat and cholesterol, or a Step I diet enriched with psyllium. Children consumed two 1-oz boxes of cereal per day, with each box of psyllium-enriched cereal containing 3.2 g of soluble fiber, and each box of placebo cereal containing less than 0.5 g of soluble fiber.Greater reduction of total and LDL-cholesterol, and increase in HDL-cholesterol were noted after 12 weeks of the psyllium-enriched Step ...
Determinants of Sir2-Mediated, Silent Chromatin Cohesion

Cohesin associates with distinct sites on chromosomes to mediate sister chromatid cohesion. Single cohesin complexes are thought to bind by encircling both sister chromatids in a topological embrace. Transcriptionally repressed chromosomal domains in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae represent specialized sites of cohesion where cohesin binds silent chromatin in a Sir2-dependent fashion. In this study, we investigated the molecular basis for Sir2-mediated cohesion. We identified a cluster of charged surface residues of Sir2, collectively termed the EKDK motif, that are required for cohesin function. In addition, we demonstrated that Esc8, a Sir2-interacting factor, is also required for silent chromatin cohesion. Esc8 was previously shown to associate with Isw1, the enzymatic core of ISW1 chromatin remodelers, to form a variant of the ISW1a chromatin remodeling complex. When ESC8 was deleted or the EKDK motif was mutated, cohesin binding at silenced chromatin domains persisted but cohesion of the domains was abolished. The data are not consistent with cohesin embracing both sister chromatids within silent chromatin domains. Transcriptional silencing remains largely intact in strains lacking ESC8 or bearing EKDK mutations, indicating that silencing and cohesion are separable functions of Sir2 and silent chromatin.
Subfertility and the risk of low birth weight

Objective We evaluated the association between subfertility and low birth weight infants. Design Women in this analysis participated in a cross-sectional investigation of maternal risk factors for adverse pregnancy outcomes. Setting Medical and obstetric history and life style information were obtained from women who delivered at the Boston Hospital for Women, 1977 to 1980. Patients, Participants Our analysis was restricted to nondiabetic married women who planned their pregnancies and subsequently delivered viable singletons (3,622). The 644 "subfertile" women (no conception during a year of unprotected intercourse) were compared with 2,978 "fertile" women (conception within 1 year). Main Outcome Measure(s) The relative risk of low birth weight was estimated using the cumulative incidence risk ratio. Results After adjusting for confounding, the relative risk of delivering a low birth weight infant ( Conclusions In these data, subfertility is a predictor for low birth weight. The association may result from endocrinological, immunological, cervical, or other factors that interfere with optimal fetal growth.
Abstract IA27: The changing landscape of U.S. cancer survivorship

More people are surviving cancer than ever, with nearly 14.5 million cancer survivors currently living in the United States, according to federal statistics. That number is expected to reach 19 million by 2024, largely due to increases in cancer diagnoses in an aging population and advances in cancer treatment and early detection. In 2005, the Institute of Medicine released From Cancer Patient to Cancer Survivor: Lost in Translation , a landmark report that highlighted a lack of best practices in caring for survivors. Since that report, several initiatives have been implemented to address the needs of the growing survivor population. However, the cancer survivorship experience isn9t the same in all populations. Within medically underserved racial/ethnic populations there are several factors that impact the survivorship experience and quality of life during the survivor period. This presentation will serve as an introduction into the survivorship experiences of different racial/ethnic groups as well as some of the challenges around measuring health related quality of life within these groups. Citation Format: Amelie G. Ramirez. The changing landscape of U.S. cancer survivorship. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the Seventh AACR Conference on The Science of Health Disparities in Racial/Ethnic Minorities and the Medically Underserved; Nov 9-12, 2014; San Antonio, TX. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev 2015;24(10 Suppl):Abstract nr IA27.
A Bayesian Robust IRT Outlier-Detection Model:

In psychometric practice, the parameter estimates of a standard item-response theory (IRT) model can become biased when item-response data, of persons' individual responses to test items, contain outliers relative to the model. Also, the manual removal of outliers can be a time-consuming and difficult task. Besides, removing outliers leads to data information loss in parameter estimation. To address these concerns, a Bayesian IRT model that includes person and latent item-response outlier parameters, in addition to person ability and item parameters, is proposed and illustrated, and is defined by item characteristic curves (ICCs) that are each specified by a robust, Student's t-distribution function. The outlier parameters and the robust ICCs enable the model to automatically identify item-response outliers, and to make estimates of the person ability and item parameters more robust to outliers. Hence, under this IRT model, it is unnecessary to remove outliers from the data analysis. Our IRT model is illustrated through the analysis of two data sets, involving dichotomous- and polytomous-response items, respectively.
Human sacrifice and natural law in Las Casas’s Apologia

This study examines how Bartolome de las Casas argues that Spain is not justified in waging war in the Americas to save the innocent victims of human sacrifice. It focuses on his three main lines of reasoning in this area and on how they relate to one another structurally and logically. These arguments are: (1) that the wars of conquest were a worse evil than human sacrifice; (2) that the practice of human sacrifice was an excusable error that almost all societies had committed at some point in their history; and (3) that this practice did not violate natural law. It also considers Domingo de Soto's treatment of the subject in his De iustitia et iure (1556), as well as his summary of the Valladolid debate between Las Casas and Juan Gines de Sepulveda (1552), where Soto seems reluctant to convey the full scope of Las Casas's more radical assertions.
Hirschsprung's disease

Hirschsprung's disease (HD) or congenital aganglionic megacolon is characterized by an absence of ganglion cells in the myenteric Auerbach's plexus, the deep submucosal Henle's plexus, and the submucosal Meissner's plexus in the distal colon. The usual presentation of Hirschsprung's disease can be demonstrated by the following clinical scenario. A 3-day-old male presented with failure to pass meconium within 48 h of birth and progressive abdominal distension. Barium study showed dilated colon with no specific zone of transition. The newborn was delivered at 40 weeks gestation after an otherwise normal pregnancy. Transanal rectal biopsy demonstrated the absence of ganglion cells on multiple sections and special staining. The patient underwent an exploratory laparotomy, upon which he was found to have markedly dilated small bowel and colon up to the area of sigmoid. A transverse loop colostomy was performed. The patient recovered well from the initial surgery and underwent definitive surgical therapy of the HD at a later time. The following core competencies are addressed in this article: Medical knowledge, Patient care. Republished with permission from: Prabhakaran S. Absite corner: Hirschsprung's disease. OPUS 12 Scientist 2009; 3(3):44-46.
Assessing Student Interest and Desire to Learn More about Climate Change Effects on Forests in Middle School: An Intervention-Based Path Model.

Raising students’ interest in climate change may motivate them to learn about this topic as well as to address and adapt to this defining challenge of our time. To investigate how to increase students’ interest in climate change through educational interventions, we conducted an initial study during a two-week pilot unit about how scientists predict the impacts of climate change on local forests. Pre- and post- intervention data were collected from 308 seventh-grade students (ages 12-13) and examined using exploratory factor, multilevel, and path analyses. Students had only moderate levels of interest in, and desire to learn more about, climate change and forests, and these levels did not change as a result of the intervention. Students’ interest in science (personal interest) and in hands-on science activities (situational interest) played more important roles in their development of interest in climate change effects on forests than their perception of climate change risk. Findings suggest that increasing student interest in climate change issues through short educational interventions is likely to present a formidable challenge, and enhancing students’ perception of climate change risk is unlikely to help educators achieve this goal. Future research should build on our intervention-based model of short-term interest development in climate change to generate additional insights about fostering students’ desire to learn more about this critical topic.
Europa mission update: Beyond payload selection

Europa, the fourth largest moon of Jupiter, is believed to be one of the best places in the solar system to look for extant life beyond Earth. The 2011 Planetary Decadal Survey, Vision and Voyages, states: “Because of this ocean's potential suitability for life, Europa is one of the most important targets in all of planetary science.” Exploring Europa to investigate its habitability is the goal of the planned Europa Mission. This exploration is intimately tied to understanding the three “ingredients” for life: liquid water, chemistry, and energy. The Europa Mission would investigate these ingredients by comprehensively exploring Europa's ice shell and liquid ocean interface, surface geology and surface composition to glean insight into the inner workings of this fascinating moon. In addition, a lander mission is seen as a possible future step, but current data about the Jovian radiation environment and about potential landing site hazards and potential safe landing zones is insufficient. Therefore an additional goal of the mission would be to characterize the radiation environment near Europa and investigate scientifically compelling sites for hazards, to inform a potential future landed mission. The Europa Mission envisions sending a flight system, consisting of a spacecraft equipped with a payload of NASA-selected scientific instruments, to execute numerous flybys of Europa while in Jupiter orbit. A key challenge is that the flight system must survive and operate in the intense Jovian radiation environment, which is especially harsh at Europa. The innovative design of this multiple-flyby tour is an enabling feature of this mission: by minimizing the time spent in the radiation environment the spacecraft complexity and cost has been significantly reduced compared to previous mission concepts. The spacecraft would launch from Kennedy Space Center (KSC), Cape Canaveral, Florida, USA, on a NASA supplied launch vehicle, no earlier than 2022. The formulation and implementation of the proposed mission is led by a joint Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) and Applied Physics Laboratory (APL) Project team. In June 2015, NASA announced the selection of a highly capable suite of 10 scientific investigations to be flown on the Europa Mission. Since the announcement, the Europa Mission Team has updated the spacecraft design in order to fully accommodate this instrument suite — a significant challenge. After completing a successful System Requirements Review and Mission Definition Review in January of 2017, the project is currently transitioning from the concept development phase to the preliminary design phase of the mission. This paper will describe the progress of the Europa Mission since 2015, including maturation of the spacecraft design, requirements, system analyses, and mission trajectories.
On the design of equation-free controllers for dissipative PDEs via DEIM

We propose an equation free control method to control dissipative distributed parameter systems, in which the dynamics of the system are unknown while the effect of the control action is. A static observer is used to estimate the state using proper orthogonal decomposition (POD) so that a complete profile of the system can be estimated when a limited number of point sensors are available. Sensor locations are determined by interpolation indices in discrete empirical interpolation method (DEIM). By using both velocity and state sensors an explicit form of the complete equation become superfluous, needing to only have a description of the actuator effect. The proposed method is successfully employed in a diffusion-reaction process with Dirichlet and Neumann boundary conditions. Feedback linearization is combined with the proposed method to regulate the system. Computational results demonstrate that this method can regulate a dissipative distributed parameter system without explicitly requiring a model of it and is robust to disturbances.
Reforming the Law on Police Use of Deadly Force: De-Escalation, Pre-Seizure Conduct, and Imperfect Self-Defense

This article seeks to contribute to the national conversation on reforming police practices by evaluating the current law on police use of deadly force, identifying problems with that law, and suggesting a modest change to that law in the form of model legislation governing police use of deadly force. Existing statutes on police use of deadly force tend to focus on the reasonableness of the officer's belief in the need to use force. This article suggests that the law should be reformed to explicitly include a focus on the reasonableness of the officer's actions. Under the proposed model statute, in order to be considered a justifiable shooting, the jury must find that both the officer's beliefs and actions were reasonable. To provide better guidance to juries than provided by current use of force statutes, the model statute specifies three factors that the fact finder should consider when deciding whether the officer’s actions were reasonable: (1) whether the victim/suspect had or appeared to have a weapon (and whether he or she refused orders to drop it), (2) whether the officer engaged in de-escalation measures prior to using deadly force, and (3) whether the officer engaged in any pre-seizure conduct that increased the risk of a deadly confrontation. It also borrows from imperfect self-defense law in civilian homicide cases, permitting the jury to find an officer charged with murder not guilty of murder, but guilty of voluntary manslaughter if the officer’s belief in the need to use deadly force was honest but unreasonable or if the officer’s belief was reasonable, but his actions unreasonable.
In search of a Doped “Destiny”: Hinduism & Guyana in Cyril Dabydeen's The Wizard Swami

(2009). In search of a Doped “Destiny”: Hinduism & Guyana in Cyril Dabydeen's The Wizard Swami. South Asian Review: Vol. 30, 'Theorizing Religion in a Postmodern Context'. Guest Edited by John Hawley, pp. 142-166.
Changes in overbite and face height from 5 to 45 years of age in normal subjects

The purpose of this study was to evaluate changes in overbite over a 40-year span, and to relate these changes to those occurring in vertical skeletal facial relationships. Lateral cephalograms of 20 males and 15 females from the Iowa Facial Growth Study were evaluated at ages 5, 10, 15, 25, and 45 years. Correlation coefficients were computed to determine the relationship between overbite and various skeletal parameters. Analysis of variance and Duncan's multiple-range test were used to compare various periods of growth. Statistical significance was predetermined at the 0.05 level of confidence. No significant correlations were found between the absolute values of overbite and the vertical skeletal parameters in either males or females. Incremental changes in overbite during four growth periods were compared with changes in various vertical parameters and only a few significant correlations were found. In males, the change in overbite was significantly correlated with changes in N-Ans'/N-Me and MP:SN during the 10-to-15 year growth period. In females, the change in overbite was significantly correlated with changes in N-Ans'/N-Me% during the 5-to-10-year period and also with change in Ar'-Go/S-Go% during the 15-to-25-year period. In general, changes in overbite with age are difficult to predict from the initial overbite in the deciduous or mixed dentitions. On the other hand, evaluation of individual curves shows that males who initially had the least amount of overbite maintained that trend during the later stages of development. Although overbite changes were significantly associated with changes in some vertical parameters, the associations were not of clinical significance for predictive purposes, and overbite changes are probably dependent on concurrent changes in the growth of the alveolar processes.
Cardiovascular surgery in the management of malignant renal neoplasms: survey of 187 cases in the literature.

Abstract Transmural or endovascular invasion of regional veins is often a characteristic of malignant renal neoplasms. Tumor thrombus that ascends in the inferior vena cava and sometimes invades the heart seldom adheres to intima. Radical surgical management of malignant renal neoplasms necessitates concomitant extraction of tumor thrombus. This may be achieved by cavotomy alone, but often resection of portions of the suprarenal inferior vena cava (either partial mural cavectomy, or circumferential cavectomy) is also required. Atriotomy is mandatory whenever intracardiac tumor thrombus exists. Most of the 187 reported operations for venous extension related to malignant renal neoplasms were done in the past decade. Technical problems have included embolism, hemorrhage, and incomplete removal. Because the left kidney is endowed with vast collateral venous channels, right nephrectomy and suprarenal caval interruption are usually well tolerated. Conversely, since the right kidney lacks venous collaterals, survival after left nephrectomy and suprarenal cavectomy hinges on creation of a shunt to divert venous outflow from the remaining kidney.
Biomphalaria : Natural History, Ecology and Schistosome Transmission

This chapter reviews the environmental and ecological factors that influence the local distribution of Biomphalaria spp. in Africa and South America, including temperature, light, water chemistry and conductivity, depth and types of water body and aquatic vegetation. The role of these intermediate snail hosts in the transmission of Schistosoma mansoni is reviewed, including aspects related to species specificity, the impact of seasonality and focality of transmission. Monitoring and surveillance techniques are also considered, in particular new molecular techniques for detecting prepatent and patent infections, as well as Geographical Information Systems and their application for risk mapping in-line with schistosomiasis control programmes. The need to document the ecological requirements of species in this medically important genus is emphasised due to ongoing environmental and predicted climatic changes.
Integrated Service Delivery and Health-Related Quality of Life of Individuals in Permanent Supportive Housing Who Were Formerly Chronically Homeless

Objectives. To investigate the impact of an integrated care model on the health-related quality of life (HRQOL) of formerly chronically homeless individuals in permanent supportive housing.Methods....
Trends in Environmental Law Scholarship 2008-2014

This comment provides a brief empirical snapshot of the environmental law scholarship published in top general law reviews and environmental law journals for academic years 2008-2009, 2009-2010, 2010-2011, 2011-2012, 2012-13, and 2013-14. The analysis suggests that over 400 environmental law articles were published each year in these journals. The articles included for each year are identified on lists available on the Environmental Law and Policy Review websites of Vanderbilt University Law School and the Environmental Law Institute.
Natural Photosensitizers in Constructed Unit Process Wetlands: Photochemical Characterization and Inactivation of Pathogen Indicator Organisms

Dissolved organic matter (DOM) is a natural photosensitizer that contributes to the inactivation of microbial pathogens. In constructed treatment wetlands with open water areas DOM can promote sunlight disinfection of wastewater effluent, but a better understanding of DOM spectroscopic and photochemical properties and how they are impacted by different unit process wetlands is needed to inform design. The goals of this study were: (1) to investigate whether DOM isolates realistically represent the photochemistry of the source DOM in its original water and (2) to observe how changes of DOM along a treatment wetland affect its photochemistry, including pathogen inactivation. A pilot scale unit process wetland was studied that consisted of three different cells (open water, cattail, and bulrush) fed by secondary wastewater effluent. DOM was isolated using solid-phase extraction (SPE), photochemically characterized, and compared to the original water samples and standard DOMs. For MS2 coliphage, a virus indicator, the most efficient photosensitizer was the wastewater DOM isolated from the influent of the wetland, while for the bacterial indicator Enterococcus faecalis, inactivation results were comparable across wetland isolates. SPE resulted in isolation of 47% to 59% of whole water DOM and enriched for colored DOM. Singlet oxygen precursors were efficiently isolated, while some excited triplet state precursors remained in the extraction discharge. DOM processing indicators such as SUVA254, SUVA280, and spectral slopes including E2/ E3 ratios were reflected in the isolates. Photoinactivation of MS2 was significantly lower in both the reconstituted water samples and isolates compared to the original water sample, possibly due to disturbance of the trans-molecular integrity of DOM molecules by SPE that affects distance between MS2 and DOM sites with locally higher singlet oxygen production. For E. faecalis, results were similar in original water samples and isolates. Higher sorption of DOM to E. faecalis was roughly correlated with higher photoinactivation rates. To enhance sunlight disinfection in unit process wetlands, there is no advantage to placing open water cells after vegetated cells, as passage through the vegetated cells led to increased light absorption and lower singlet oxygen and triplet-state quantum yields and steady state concentrations.
Short-term outcomes of deceased donor renal transplants of HCV uninfected recipients from HCV seropositive nonviremic donors and viremic donors in the era of direct-acting antivirals.

The United States opioid use epidemic over the past decade has coincided with an increase in hepatitis C virus (HCV) positive donors. Using propensity score matching, and the Organ Procurement Transplant Network data files from January 2015 to June 2019, we analyzed the short-term outcomes of adult deceased donor kidney transplants of HCV uninfected recipients with two distinct groups of HCV positive donors (HCV seropositive, nonviremic n = 352 and viremic n = 196) compared to those performed using HCV uninfected donors (n = 36 934). Compared to the reference group, the transplants performed using HCV seropositive, nonviremic and viremic donors experienced a lower proportion of delayed graft function (35.2 vs 18.9%; P < .001 [HCV seropositive, nonviremic donors] and 36.2 vs 16.8% ; P < .001[HCV viremic donors]). The recipients of HCV viremic donors had better allograft function at 6 months posttransplant (eGFR [54.1 vs 68.3 mL/min/1.73 m2; P = .004]. Furthermore, there was no statistical difference in the overall graft failure risk at 12 months posttransplant by propensity score matched multivariable Cox proportional analysis (HR = 0.60, 95% CI 0.23 to 1.29 [HCV seropositive, nonviremic donors] and HR = 0.85, 95% CI 0.25 to 2.96 [HCV viremic donors]). Further studies are required to determine the long-term outcomes of these transplants and address unanswered questions regarding the use of HCV viremic donors.