cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Division of Parent Care Among Adult Children.

Objectives Many older adults rely on their children's support to sustain community residence. Although filial norms encourage adult children to help their parents, not every child provides parent care in times of need. The majority of prior studies have adopted an individualistic perspective to examine factors associated with individual children's caregiving behavior. This study complements previous work by using the family systems perspective to understand how caregiving responsibilities are allocated among children in the family and how the pattern of care division evolves over time. Method Data came from seven rounds of the National Health and Aging Trends Study (2011-2017), in which community-dwelling respondents were asked about all of their children and which children provided them with care. Multilevel models were estimated to examine how caregiving responsibilities were distributed among children and how the children's caregiving efforts responded to changes in their parents' frailty. Results About three quarters of older adults reported receiving help from only one child, and the average of monthly care hours was about 50 at baseline. As parents' frailty increased, the proportion of children providing parents rose and the allocation of parent-care hours became more equal. Discussion This study underscores the importance of using the family systems perspective to better understand adult children's caregiving behavior. Although just one adult child providing care is the most common caregiving arrangement initially, adult children tend to work with their siblings to support parents' aging in place as parents' need for care increases.
Promotion in academic pain medicine.

Dear Editor The authors would like to thank Mukhdomi et al for their thoughtful and astute commentary on our study of factors associated with academic rank among chronic pain medicine faculty.[1 2][1] Mukhdomi et al suggest important points for clarification to further substantiate the findings of
System impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's emergency medical services

Objectives To describe the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on New York City's (NYC) 9-1-1 emergency medical services (EMS) system and assess the efficacy of pandemic planning to meet increased demands. Methods Longitudinal analysis of NYC 9-1-1 EMS system call volumes, call-types, and response times during the COVID-19 peak-period (March 16-April 15, 2020) and post-surge period (April 16-May 31, 2020) compared with the same 2019 periods. Results EMS system received 30,469 more calls from March 16-April 15, 2020 compared with March 16-April 15, 2019 (161,815 vs 127,962; P < 0.001). On March 30, 2020, call volume increased 60% compared with the same 2019 date. The majority were for respiratory (relative risk [RR] = 2.50; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.44-2.56) and cardiovascular (RR = 1.85; 95% CI = 1.82-1.89) call-types. The proportion of high-acuity, life-threatening call-types increased compared with 2019 (42.3% vs 36.4%). Planned interventions to prioritize high-acuity calls resulted in the average response time increasing by 3 minutes compared with an 11-minute increase for low low-acuity calls. Post-surge, EMS system received fewer calls compared with 2019 (154,310 vs 193,786; P < 0.001). Conclusions COVID-19-associated NYC 9-1-1 EMS volume surge was primarily due to respiratory and cardiovascular call-types. As the pandemic stabilized, call volume declined to below pre-pandemic levels. Our results highlight the importance of EMS system-wide pandemic crisis planning.
An Examination of Factors Influencing Government Employees to Adopt and Use Social Media

The growing importance of information and communication technologies in public sectors drove this study. Many governments have recognized social media as a valuable information and communication tool worldwide. This study aimed to understand what factors may influence government employees’ intentions to use social media for their agencies. This study used the unified theory of acceptance and use of technology (UTAUT) as the theoretical framework, explaining a user’s intention to adopt and use information technology. Employees’ attitudes and intentions toward adopting and using social media platforms in Saudi government agencies were assessed using an online survey. Data collected from 236 respondents were tested against the research model using the structural equation modeling approach. The results indicated that performance expectancy, effort expectancy, and top management support were significant behavioral intention determinants to use social media. Facilitating conditions and behavioral intention were not found to be significant predictor variables of the actual use of social media.
Inference of Break-Points in High-Dimensional Time Series

We consider a new procedure for detecting structural breaks in mean for high-dimensional time series. We target breaks happening at unknown time points and locations. In particular, at a fixed time point our method is concerned with either the biggest break in one location or aggregating simultaneous breaks over multiple locations. We allow for both big or small sized breaks, so that we can 1), stamp the dates and the locations of the breaks, 2), estimate the break sizes and 3), make inference on the break sizes as well as the break dates. Our theoretical setup incorporates both temporal and cross-sectional dependence, and is suitable for heavy-tailed innovations. We derive the asymptotic distribution for the sizes of the breaks by extending the existing powerful theory on local linear kernel estimation and high dimensional Gaussian approximation to allow for trend stationary time series with jumps. A robust long-run covariance matrix estimation is proposed, which can be of independent interest. An application on detecting structural changes of the US unemployment rate is considered to illustrate the usefulness of our method.
Study Abroad and the Boomerang Effect: The End Is Only the Beginning.

Introduction As research on the effectiveness of study abroad programs continues to evolve, we are beginning to see a gradual shift in focus from “Is study abroad effective?” to “What can we do to improve the quality of the study abroad experience?” (e.g., Pederson, 2010; Shaheen, 2004). We believe that this broadened perspective is a natural consequence of the maturing of assurance of learning programs at institutions of higher education (e.g., AACSB: Eligibility Procedures and Accreditation Standards for Business Accreditation, 2012; Higher Learning Commission (HLC), Criteria for Accreditation, 2012; de Witt, 2010). Refinements in methodology and baseline effectiveness will of course continue to be an important and ongoing body of work (e.g., Anderson and Lawton, 2011; Braskamp et al. 2009; Rexeisen & Al-Khatib, 2009; Vande Berg et al., 2009). The current study adds to the current literature by addressing a gap in the existing study abroad outcomes assessment literature by focusing on the question of whether the developmental benefits of study abroad endure over time.
Love That Gives Us Ourselves

now I speak only words I can believe: no sly resonant pity. Her short questions, the gravel of her answers comes back to me again and again, in waves: turn with your whole life choosing. Everything here is real, she said, and of our joy. Her mother didn't answer. Even past death language incomplete between them. Intense desire scorches its fulfillment. Muriel, the ashes rise, the ashes are flying.
Concentration-Dependent Dual Role of Thrombin in Protection of Cultured Rat Cortical Neurons

Thrombin's role in the nervous system is not well understood. Under conditions of blood-brain barrier compromise (e.g., neurosurgery or stroke), thrombin can result in neuroapoptosis and the formation of glial scars. Despite this, preconditioning with thrombin has been found to be neuroprotective in models of cerebral ischemia and intracerebral hemorrhage. We investigated the effects of physiologically relevant concentrations of thrombin on cortical neurons using two culture-based assays. We examined thrombin's effect on neurites by quantitative analysis of fluorescently labeled neurons. To characterize thrombin's effects on neuron survival, we spectrophotometrically measured changes in enzymatic activity. Using receptor agonists and thrombin inhibitors, we separately examined the role of thrombin and its receptor in neuroprotection. We found that low concentrations of thrombin (1 nM) enhances neurite growth and branching, neuron viability, and protects against excitotoxic damage. In contrast, higher concentrations of thrombin (100 nM) are potentially detrimental to neuronal health as evidenced by inhibition of neurite growth. Lower concentrations of thrombin resulted in equivalent neuroprotection as the antifibrinolytic, aprotinin, and the direct thrombin inhibitor, argatroban. Interestingly, exogenous application of the species-specific thrombin inhibitor, antithrombin III, was detrimental to neuronal health; suggesting that some endogenous thrombin is necessary for optimal neuron health in our culture system. Activation of the thrombin receptor, protease-activated receptor-1 (PAR-1), via micromolar concentrations of the thrombin receptor agonist peptide, TRAP, did not adversely affect neuronal viability. An optimal concentration of thrombin exists to enhance neuronal health. Neurotoxic effects of thrombin do not involve activation of PAR receptors and thus separate pharmacologic manipulation of thrombin's receptor in the setting of direct thrombin inhibitors could be a potential neuroprotective strategy.
Health status and health care utilization by menopausal women

This chapter challenges the prevailing perception that the ‘typical’ menopausal woman suffers from a ‘syndrome’ or ‘deficiency disease’ — is beset with complaints, experiencing major physical changes, evidences regretfulness and even depression and is generally a burden on medical care resources. As a move towards correcting this imbalance in knowledge, this chapter focuses on three interrelated themes: (1) A vast majority of mid-aged women do not express regret at reaching menopause, do not report more symptoms or poorer health status and do not evidence increased use of medical services. The ‘typical’ menopausal woman is neither sick nor a high user of medical care. (2) Women who experience an artifical menopause (cessation of menses through surgery) constitute an atypical subgroup, which differs from the vast majority of women in important ways unrelated to the menopause. These are the women who have been extensively studied and discussed in the professional and popular literature. (3) It is this atypical subgroup which physicians tend to see (as patients) and from whom they understandably derive their statistically biased image of the ‘typical’ menopausal woman.
Planning and scheduling to minimize tardiness

We combine mixed integer linear programming (MILP) and constraint programming (CP) to minimize tardiness in planning and scheduling. Tasks are allocated to facilities using MILP and scheduled using CP, and the two are linked via logic-based Benders decomposition. We consider two objectives: minimizing the number of late tasks, and minimizing total tardiness. Our main theoretical contribution is a relaxation of the cumulative scheduling subproblem, which is critical to performance. We obtain substantial computational speedups relative to the state of the art in both MILP and CP. We also obtain much better solutions for problems that cannot be solved to optimality.
Book Review: Mastering Windows Network Forensics and Investigation, 2/e

Anson, S., Bunting, S., Johnson, R., & Pearson, S. (2012). Mastering Windows Network Forensics and Investigation, 2nd ed. Indianapolis: John Wiley & Sons. 674 pages, ISBN: 978-1-118-16382-5, $59.99 USA/$71.99 CAN. Reviewed by John C. Ebert, Metropolitan State University (eberjo@metrostate.edu) The book is available as a paperback and e-book. The e-book versions allow you to preview several chapters at any of a number of online vendors. The e-book prices vary from the same as the soft cover version ($59.99) to about $38.99. Some of the vendor's e-books retain the color illustrations found in the print version, but others produce them in grey scale, so you might want to look out for that. The book is divided into four parts (17 chapters) plus two appendices. I am compelled to give the book illustrations a highly unfavorable assessment regarding their readability qualities. Their content is otherwise fine and meaningful. Time and again the illustrations are so miniscule that even those of us with the best of vision will be seriously challenged. I hold out the recommendation to review your e-book options over the hardcopy edition. At least in an e-book you have the hope of doing a page-zoom. Review your e-book providers carefully; some I reviewed had "fuzzy graphics." Notwithstanding the problem illustrations, I still recommend this book for its in-the-trenches information and the desktop reference it will become. (see PDF for full review)
Learning Hierarchical Riffle Independent Groupings from Rankings

Riffled independence is a generalized notion of probabilistic independence that has been shown to be naturally applicable to ranked data. In the riffled independence model, one assigns rankings to two disjoint sets of items independently, then in a second stage, interleaves (or riffles) the two rankings together to form a full ranking, as if by shuffling a deck of cards. Because of this interleaving stage, it is much more difficult to detect riffled independence than ordinary independence. In this paper, we provide the first automated method for discovering sets of items which are riffle independent from a training set of rankings. We show that our clustering-like algorithms can be used to discover meaningful latent coalitions from real preference ranking datasets and to learn the structure of hierarchically decomposable models based on riffled independence.
Circadian clocks limited by noise.

Circadian rhythms, which provide internal daily periodicity, are used by a wide range of organisms to anticipate daily changes in the environment1. It seems that these organisms generate circadian periodicity by similar biochemical networks within a single cell2. A model based on the common features of these biochemical networks shows that a circadian network can oscillate reliably in the presence of stochastic biochemical noise and when cellular conditions are altered. We propose that the ability to resist such perturbations imposes strict constraints on the oscillation mechanisms underlying circadian periodicity in vivo.
Abstract P302: Association of High-Sensitive Troponin I With Coronary Heart Disease Incidence Among Asymptomatic Older Adults: The ADVANCE Study

Background: The third generation of cardiac troponin-I assays (high-sensitive troponin-I, hs-TI) has a lower limit of detection one order of magnitude lower than current commercial assays. Elevated hs-TI has been associated with structural and coronary heart disease (CHD), but data remains sparse, particularly in asymptomatic subjects free of clinical cardiovascular disease (CVD). Methods: Among asymptomatic subjects with no known CVD in The Atherosclerotic Disease, VAscular FunctioN and GenetiC Epidemiology (ADVANCE) Study recruited in 2002-04 (mean ± SD age=62 ± 8 years, 49% women; 52% non-white), we identified the correlates of hs-TI and the independent predictive value of hs-TI for incident CHD (hospitalization or death with ICD9 codes 410-414 or coronary revascularization procedures) over a median of 8 years of follow-up. Hs-TI was measured using stored serum with the Abbott ARCHITECT STAT assay, a chemiluminescent microparticle immunoassay (CMIA). Results: There were 153 CHD events among 1,157 subjects. The median (interquartile range, in ng/L) of hs-TI was 4.1 (3.1-5.5) in men and 3.3 (2.5-4.2) in women. The independent (positive) correlates of hs-TI were black race, body mass index, diabetes and hypertension. Age-adjusted CHD rates showed a threshold effect at the 4 th quartile. In proportional hazards regression, there was a 2.4-fold increased risk of CHD associated with the sex-specific quartile IV (relative to quartiles I-III combined) in Model 1 adjusting for age, gender and race/ethnicity. The increased risk was only partially explained by adjustment for Framingham risk score (FRS), C-reactive protein and estimated glomerular filtration rate (Model 2). The area under the curve (AUC) improved from 0.66 to 0.69 (p=0.05) after adding hs-TI to a model with Model 2 covariates, and the net reclassification improvement (NRI) was 0.13 (p=0.01). Conclusion: Among asymptomatic adults without known CVD, hs-TI may be useful for helping identify patients at increased CHD risk beyond traditional risk factors.
Maximal myocardial blood flow is enhanced by chronic hypoxemia in late gestation fetal sheep

The measurement of maximal myocardial blood flow gives information about the total cross-sectional area of the coronary resistance vessels. During a continuous left atrial infusion of adenosine (60...
A multimarket equilibrium valuation model

In this paper, a rnultimarket equilibrium pricing model under conditions of uncertainty is developed. A rnultimarket equilibrium asset pricing equation for risky assets ifi derived and compared with both the traditional expected return—risk equation given by Sharpe, Lintner, and Mossin (known as the SLM model) and its extended model ol; Mayers. The non parametric Wilcoxon signed-rank tests are performed to test tho empirical results obtained from a sample of 60 securities. It is shown that the new model gives estimates of beta coefficients significantly different from those of the SLM and Mayers models. It is also found that the beta estimates from the Mayers model are not statistically distinguishable from those from the SLM model, which support Fama and Schwert's finding. Finally, a rnultimarket equilibrium expected money growth-risk equation is derived and the effects of changes in the expected final wealth and the Bupply of money on the demand for real cash balances are analysed.
Simulation studies for comparative evaluation of alternative spectral regions for the sensing of CO2 and O2 suitable for the ASCENDS Mission

We have carried out comparative simulation studies to establish the advantages and limitations of alternative spectral regions and measurement wavelengths being investigated by different groups for the sensing of CO 2 and O 2 for potential use in the ASCENDS mission implementation. Our studies are based on the lidar modeling framework we developed specifically for ASCENDS which may be further applied to similar missions relying on the active sensing approach from space or aircraft. The modeling framework performs standard lidar sensitivity calculations, and also includes analysis of weighting functions and the effects of laser wavelength instabilities. As such, the factors considered in the analysis include the general LIDAR sensitivity, shapes of the weighting functions, as well as the added error due to the laser wavelength jitter in the selected spectral bands and wavelength regions. In particular, the studies were performed for the 1.26 – 1.27 micron and the A-band of oxygen, as well as the 1.57 and 2.06 micron bands of carbon dioxide. Additionally, the analysis is based on a range of satellite datasets and models to also take into account a variety of spacial and temporal variations in surface and atmospheric parameters. The results of our comparative studies for alternative spectral bands will be presented including the quantitative estimates of required constraints on selected system parameters to achieve the desired accuracy of ~0.3% in XCO 2 measurements.
Empowering Users through Secure On-Demand Data Provisioning

A virtualized on-demand infrastructure coupled with multidimensional encryption lets users retain control over their stored data and securely access that data from anywhere.
On-resin dimerization incorporates a diverse array of π-conjugated functionality within aqueous self-assembling peptide backbones

We report a convenient method to incorporate π-electron units into peptides that assemble into amyloid-like supramolecular polymers, discussing the scope of the process and preliminary characterization of the resulting nanomaterials. Self-assembly manipulates these “electronic peptides” into delocalized sub-10 nm 1-D nanostructures under completely aqueous conditions.
Increases in energy prices, costs of production, and plant size

Abstract A translog cost function is estimated for U.S. manufacturing in order to investigate plant size differences in responses to increases in energy prices. Smaller plants were more intensive users of energy in the early 1970s but were also better able to substitute out of energy and into other inputs during the first round of energy price increases. As a result, by the mid-1970s larger plants had become more intensive energy users. Thus, later energy price increases probably had a greater adverse impact on the production costs of larger plants in manufacturing.
Photocatalytic Conversion of CO2 to CO using Rhenium Bipyridine Platforms Containing Ancillary Phenyl or BODIPY Moieties.

Harnessing of solar energy to drive the reduction of carbon dioxide to fuels requires the development of efficient catalysts that absorb sunlight. In this work, we detail the synthesis, electrochemistry, and photophysical properties of a set of homologous fac-ReI(CO)3 complexes containing either an ancillary phenyl (8) or BODIPY (12) substituent. These studies demonstrate that both the electronic properties of the rhenium center and BODIPY chromophore are maintained for these complexes. Photolysis studies demonstrate that both assemblies 8 and 12 are competent catalysts for the photochemical reduction of CO2 to CO in dimethylformamide (DMF) using triethanolamine (TEOA) as a sacrificial reductant. Both compounds 8 and 12 display turnover frequencies (TOFs) for photocatalytic CO production upon irradiation with light (λex ≥ 400 nm) of ∼5 h–1 with turnover number (TON) values of approximately 20. Although structural and photophysical measurements demonstrate that electronic coupling between the BODIPY and fa...
Environmental policy and trade under non-competitive markets: Directions for developing economies

This paper is only a first step towards an understanding of the effects of strategic environmental policy. Even the simple framework developed here provides interesting insights. As the precedent analysis has made clear, the optimal pollution policy under domestic distortions can be decomposed into a "domestic output effect", a "trade effect", and a "pollution effect". The "domestic output effect" captures the change in welfare coming from a change in domestic firms sale, the "trade effect" captures the change in welfare coming from a change in the level of imports, while the "pollution effect" captures the negative effect on welfare of domestic emissions. Then, the optimal pollution policy can imply a tax or subsidy for the domestic industry, which will depend on the specific characteristics of a given economy. This result emphasizes the idea, as is well known, that the outcomes for the case of one distortion do not hold in an optimal-second best pollution policy. With respect to the issues of international trade, we showed that international trade unambiguously increases social welfare and that the effect of an increase in the level of the domestic tariff is uncertain on optimal pollution tax. The analysis presented appears robust to other specifications of functional forms; the use of specific and relatively simple functional forms allowed calculation of closed-form solutions for variables of interest and allowed a clear understanding of the underlying economic principles at work in the analysis. There are many additional of research that could be pursued. A natural extension is to consider a simple two-country model with endogenous world prices.
For Colored Girls? Factors that Influence Teacher Recommendations into Advanced Courses for Black Girls

Given the lack of attention to Black girls’ participation in STEM related courses, it remains unclear why this group participates at lower rates in STEM courses later in their academic careers (Hyde et al. 2008; Tocci and Engelhard 1991; Catsambis 1994). The purpose of this paper is to examine the extent to which teachers influence Black girls’ opportunities along the math pipeline. The aim is to determine the role of Black girls’ cognitive and non-cognitive behaviors on teachers’ decisions to place them in advanced courses. Using nationally representative survey data, the findings indicate that Black girls’ confidence in their ability to master skills taught math reduced the odds teacher recommendations to advanced courses. Additionally, teachers’ expectations of the educational attainment of Black girls were related to the recommendation process. Overall, the findings suggest that subjective beliefs held by students and teachers critically influence Black girls’ persistence along the math pipeline.
Water Structure around Enkephalin near a PE Surface: A Molecular Dynamics Study

A molecular model was constructed simulating a pentapeptide protein, leucine enkephalin, near a crystalline polyethylene (PE) surface surrounded by explicit water molecules. A molecular dynamic simulation of the model was performed to examine the forces exerted on the protein by the surface and the water molecules. The orientational distribution functions of the water molecules were examined to determine if and how structured or ordered water in the model contributed to the attractive and repulsive forces between the protein and the surface. The results of the simulations showed that there is relatively strong spatial and orientational structuring of the water adjacent to the PE surface, and a lesser amount of structuring near the protein. The distribution is a function of the orientation of the protein with respect to the surface. The proximity of the protein to the surface has a strong influence on the density and structure of water between the protein and surface. A linear correlation between the force of water on the protein and the angular distribution of water molecules was observed in the most dense region of water between the protein and surface. When the protein presents its polar side toward the nonpolar PE surface, the water structure near the protein disrupts the normal structure of water near the surface. Additionally, the orientational structure of the water between them causes an asymmetric force on the protein, pushing it away from the surface. When the nonpolar side of the protein is presented toward the PE, there is less disruption of water structure, and the interaction forces are attractive.
On an asymptotic property of expected utility

Suppose Sn = Σi = 1n Xi where the Xi are elements of a sequence of random variables. Letting U be a risk-averse utility function, we show that the asymptotic approximation E[U(Sn)] ∼ U(E[Sn]) holds under generally applicable conditions.
Potassium efflux from infant and adult rat choroid plexuses: Effects of CSF anion substitution, N-ethylmaleimide and C1 transport inhibitors

To analyze interdependent transport of K and Cl, we investigated Rb (K) efflux from in vitro choroid plexus (CP) in isotonic artificial CSF (aCSF) medium containing anions or agents that alter KCl transport. Lateral ventricle CP was loaded with 86Rb for release to enable calculation of the efflux rate coefficient, k. With Cl as the main anion in control aCSF, the k value for 86Rb (K) in CP of 1 week infant rats (0.177 min−1) was 19% lower than in adults (0.218 min−1) (P < 0.005). Replacing CSF Cl with NO3 or SCN, respectively, reduced k for K in infant CP by 73% and 43%; similar anion selectivity was observed in adult tissues (P < 0.05). N-Ethylmaleimide (NEM), which stimulates KCI cotransport, significantly enhanced K efflux in infants and adults. In adult CP, the KCl cotransport inhibitor, furosemide (1 mM), decreased K efflux by 23% or 65%, respectively, when aCSF had Cl or NO3 as the main anion. In infant rat CP, 0.1 mM bumetanide (another KCl cotransport inhibitor), reduced k for K by 65%, whereas the Cl channel blocker diphenylamine car☐ylate (1 mM) did not significantly alter K efflux. The collective findings for rat CP indicate a substantial component of K efflux that is associated with Cl concentration and the Cl transport protein sensitive to loop diuretics and NEM. The Cl-dependent K efflux is present in infants.
Chromatin Stability at Low Concentration Depends on Histone Octamer Saturation Levels

Studies on the stability of nucleosome core particles as a function of concentration have indicated a lower limit of ∼5 ng/μL, below which the complexes start to spontaneously destabilize. Until recently little information was available on the effect of low concentration on chromatin. Using the well-characterized array of tandemly repeated 5S rDNA reconstituted into chromatin, we have investigated the effect of dilution. In this study, we demonstrate that the stability of saturated nucleosomal arrays and that of nucleosome core particles are within the same order of magnitude, and no significant loss of histones is monitored down to a concentration of 2.5 ng/μL. We observed that levels of subsaturation of the nucleosomal arrays were directly correlated with an increased sensitivity to histone loss, suggesting a shielding effect. The loss of histones from our linear nucleosomal arrays was shown not to be random, with a significant likelihood to occur at the end of the template than toward the center. This observation indicates that centrally located nucleosomes are more stable than those close to the end of the DNA templates. Itis important to take this information into account for the proper design of experiments pertaining to histone composition and the folding ability of chromatin samples.
Myxoma Virus Sensitizes Cancer Cells to Gemcitabine and Is an Effective Oncolytic Virotherapeutic in Models of Disseminated Pancreatic Cancer

Myxoma virus (MYXV) is a novel oncolytic virus that has been shown to replicate in pancreatic cancer cells, but its efficacy in animal models of pancreatic cancer has not been determined. The efficacy of MYXV as monotherapy or in combination with gemcitabine was evaluated in intraperitoneal dissemination (IPD) models of pancreatic cancer. The effects of an intact immune system on the efficacy of MYXV therapy was tested by comparing immunodeficient versus immunocompetent murine models and combination therapy with gemcitabine was also evaluated. In cell culture, MYXV replication was robust in a broad range of pancreatic cancer cells and also showed increased oncolysis in combination with gemcitabine. In animal models, MYXV treatment conferred survival benefits over control or gemcitabine-treated cohorts regardless of the cell line or animal model used. MYXV monotherapy was most effective in an immunocompetent IPD model, and resulted in 60% long-term survivors. In Pan02 engrafted immunocompetent IPD models, sequential treatment in which MYXV was administered first, followed by gemcitabine, was the most effective and resulted in 100% long-term survivors. MYXV is an effective oncolytic virus for pancreatic cancer and can be combined with gemcitabine to enhance survival, particularly in the presence of an intact host immune system.
Experimental filtration efficiencies for large pore nuclepore filters

Abstract Experimental filtration data were collected in an effort to validate an impaction model previously developed and presented. Using a sampler with a 9.5 μm pore diameter Nuclepore filter, collection efficiencies were measured for both liquid and solid aerosols over a size range of 2–9 μm. Data for the liquid aerosol showed good agreement with the impaction model; however, data for the solid aerosol indicated an appreciably lower collection efficiency than predicted by the model. The liquid aerosol data validate the impaction model. The solid aerosol data indicate particle bounce or reintrainment subsequent to impact and underscore particle capture as a problem to be dealt with if the Nuclepore surface is to be used as a size selective filter.
Master production schedule time interval strategies in make-to-order supply chains¶

While the literature primarily addresses MPS design from the manufacturer's perspective, this research considers MPS policy design in a two-stage rolling schedule environment with a particular focus on the policy governing schedule flexibility in the non-frozen time interval (i.e. liquid versus slushy orders). Using computer simulation, we experimentally evaluate the impact of four MPS design factors (non-frozen interval policy, planning horizon length, frozen interval length and re-planning frequency) and four environmental factors (natural order cycle length, vendor flexibility, demand range and demand lumpiness) on MPS schedule cost and instability. The experimental design considers the often-conflicting impact of MPS policy on the channel members by capturing performance metrics at the manufacturer, vendor and system level. The research findings indicate that moving from a liquid to a slushy non-interval strategy increases the manufacturer's costs, but may result in an even greater cost reduction for ...
Lyme Disease in California: a Novel Enzootic Transmission Cycle of Borrelia burgdorferi

Knowledge of zoonotic transmission cycles is essential for the development of effective strategies for disease prevention. The enzootiology of Lyme disease in California differs fundamentally from that reported from the eastern United States. Woodrats, not mice, serve as reservoir hosts, and Ixodes neotomae, a nonhuman-biting tick, maintains the agent of Lyme disease, Borrelia burgdorferi, in enzootic cycles. The western black-legged tick, Ixodes pacificus, is the primary vector to humans, but it appears to be an inefficient maintenance vector. Isolates of B. burgdorferi from California exhibit considerable antigenic heterogeneity, and some isolates differ strikingly from isolates recovered from this and other geographic regions.
Early Th1 Cell Differentiation Is Marked by a Tfh Cell-like Transition

Summary Follicular helper T (Tfh) cells comprise an important subset of helper T cells; however, their relationship with other helper lineages is incompletely understood. Herein, we showed interleukin-12 acting via the transcription factor STAT4 induced both Il21 and Bcl6 genes, generating cells with features of both Tfh and Th1 cells. However, STAT4 also induced the transcription factor T-bet. With ChIP-seq, we defined the genome-wide targets of T-bet and found that it repressed Bcl6 and other markers of Tfh cells, thereby attenuating the nascent Tfh cell-like phenotype in the late phase of Th1 cell specification. Tfh-like cells were rapidly generated after Toxoplasma gondii infection in mice, but T-bet constrained Tfh cell expansion and consequent germinal center formation and antibody production. Our data argue that Tfh and Th1 cells share a transitional stage through the signal mediated by STAT4, which promotes both phenotypes. However, T-bet represses Tfh cell functionalities, promoting full Th1 cell differentiation.
Legal dimensions of the psychiatric halfway house.

This paper addresses itself to the solutions developed in Massachusetts to three key legal problem areas with regard to the psychiatric halfway house. These areas are (1) the assurance of the overall quality of the programs through rigorous implementation of regulatory statutes; (2) the determination of beneficial location and equitable geographical distribution of these facilities as enabled through local zoning ordinances-preventing at the same time arbitrary community exclusion; and (3) the establishment of standards for safe, suitable, and feasible structures to house the community residence as determined by building codes.
The role of EUS in the diagnosis of cystic lesions of the pancreas

Cystic lesions of the pancreas may represent an early malignancy, a benign lesion, or an inflammatory process of the pancreas. Mucinous cystadenomas are premalignant or malignant cysts of the pancreas that often present without symptoms or with an episode of mild pancreatitis. The treatment of patients with cystadenomas is surgical resection, and careful histologic analysis of the mucinous epithelium reveals that approximately 10% to 20% are malignant.1 The prognosis of resected benign mucinous cystadenomas is excellent, whereas the 5-year survival rate of mucinous cystadenocarcinomas is 33% to 64%, depending on the extent of the malignancy.2,3 In contrast, serous cystadenomas are predominantly benign.2 Although these lesions may grow large enough to produce pain or duodenal obstruction, reports of malignant change are rare. Inflammatory pseudocysts of the pancreas may simulate mucinous or serous cystadenomas. Pseudocysts are composed of walled-off collections of pancreatic secretions and have no epithelial lining in the wall. Pseudocysts often drain spontaneously, but when they persist and cause symptoms of pain or recurrent pancreatitis, they should be drained. Differentiation among mucinous cystadenomas, serous cystadenomas, and pseudocysts is often difficult on the basis of a clinical presentation. Many patients have few, if any, symptoms. Recurrent pancreatitis may be associated with mucinous cystadenomas or pseudocysts. Radiologic imaging studies such as CT, US, and magnetic resonance imaging are often used to diagnose and characterize such lesions. CT may be diagnostic for serous cystadenomas but is poor at differentiating between pseudocysts and mucinous cystadenomas.4 Small intrapancreatic cystic lesions are particularly difficult to image with traditional methods.5 Analysis of aspirated cystic fluid has been used in an attempt to classify cystic lesions; however, it may be difficult to localize small lesions with sufficient accuracy to guide the aspiration of an intrapancreatic cyst. EUS is the ideal tool for providing detailed imaging of pancreatic cysts, because the endosonoscope can be placed in close proximity to the lesion and guide fine-needle aspiration (FNA).
Severe acute aortic regurgitation due to aortic dissection.

CASE DESCRIPTION Aortic insufficiency (AI) occurs frequently in patients with acute Type A aortic dissection. Exacerbation of this AI due to prolapse of the dissection flap is rare (1). A 68-year-old man presented to an outside hospital with sudden onset of severe back pain and numbness in his right leg. A Stanford Type A thoracic aortic dissection was diagnosed by a computed tomography scan. He was transferred via helicopter to our hospital for emergency aortic surgery. To expedite the care of this patient, he was transported directly to the operating room from the helipad. After induction of general anesthesia, transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) confirmed the diagnosis of an ascending aortic aneurysm with a dissection in the ascending aorta that progressed through the aortic arch into the distal descending aorta. In the midesophageal long axis view of the aorta, a definite, undulating dissection flap was seen as a mobile echogenic structure with a pattern of motion different than the aortic wall. Color flow imaging revealed an entry site into the false lumen in the ascending aorta and demonstrated blood flow in both the true and false lumens. The aortic valve was trileaflet. Color Doppler revealed severe AI because of incomplete leaflet closure from a dilated sinotubular junction. This AI was exacerbated by the back and forth movement of the dissection flap from the ascending aorta into the left ventricular outflow tract, further preventing coaptation of the aortic valve leaflets (Fig. 1). The midesophageal short axis view of the ascending aorta revealed a starfish-like appearance of the circumferential dissection flap (Fig. 2). In our patient, although it was not clear if the dissection involved the coronary arteries, both the left and right ventricles were normal in size and function, with no regional wall motion abnormalities. (TEE video loops are available online at www.anesthesia-analgesia.org.) The patient was placed on cardiopulmonary bypass and his ascending aorta and aortic valve were replaced with a 25-mm Carboseal valve conduit with reimplantation of the coronary arteries. Circulatory arrest under deep hypothermia was used for a portion of the procedure. TEE examination after weaning from cardiopulmonary bypass revealed a mechanical aortic valve prosthesis functioning normally and an ascending aortic graft with no evidence of leak. The dissection flap now seen in the aortic arch continued into the descending thoracic aorta. The patient was discharged home on the eighth day in satisfactory condition.
Genomic alterations in distal bile duct carcinoma by comparative genomic hybridization and karyotype analysis.

We report genomic abnormalities identified in 14 human primary common bile duct carcinomas analyzed by cytogenetics or comparative genomic hybridization, or both. Combining the results of the two methods of analysis, 11 chromosomal arms were observed to be gained in whole or in part, and 9 chromosomal arms were lost in whole or in part in at least four tumors each. The most frequently lost chromosomal regions were, in decreasing order: 18q (eight tumors); 6q and 10p (seven tumors each); 8p, 12q, and 17p (six tumors each); and 7q, 12p, and 22q (four tumors each). The most frequently gained regions were 8q and 20q (six tumors each); 12p, 17q, and Xp (five tumors each); and 2q, 6p, 7p, 11q, 13q, and 19q (four tumors each). These results are similar to those we have previously reported in pancreatic cancer and suggest that carcinomas of the common bile duct and pancreas share a number of genetic changes.
Statistical mechanics of protein folding by exhaustive enumeration

It is hard to construct theo- ries for the folding of globular proteins be- cause they are large and complicated mol- ecules having enormous numbers of nonna- tive conformations and having native states that are complicated to describe. Statistical mechanical theories of protein folding are constructed around major simplifying assump- tions about the energy as a function of con- formation and/or simplifications of the repre- sentation of the polypeptide chain, such as one point per residue on a cubic lattice. It is not clear how the results of these theories are affected by their various simplifications. Here we take a very different simplification ap- proach where the chain is accurately repre- sented and the energy of each conformation is calculated by a not unreasonable empirical function. However, the set of amino acid se- quences and allowed conformations is so re- stricted that it becomes computationally fea- sible to examine them all. Hence we are able to calculate melting curves for thermal denatur- ation as well as the detailed kinetic pathway of refolding. Such calculations are based on a novel representation of the conformations as points in an abstract 12-dimensional Euclid- ean conformation space. Fast folding sequences have relatively high melting temperatures, native structures with relatively low energies, small kinetic barriers between local minima, and relatively many conformations in the global energy minimum's watershed. In contrast to other folding theories, these mod- els show no necessary relationship between fast folding and an overall funnel shape to the energy surface, or a large energy gap between the native and the lowest non- native structure, or the depth of the native energy minimum compared to the roughness of the energy landscape. Proteins 32:425-437,
The Need for Theory in Assessing Peer Courts

Over the past decade, peer courts have become an increasingly popular way to divert first-time and status offenders from the juvenile court, with more than 875 programs nationwide in 2002. With the...
Flow distribution and pressure drop in diffuser-monolith flows

Most current automotive catalytic converters use diffusers to distribute the flow field inside the monolithic bricks where catalysis takes place. While the characteristics and performance of a simple diffuser flow are well documented, the influence of downstream brick resistance is not clear. In this paper, the trade-off between flow-uniformity and pressure drop of an axisymmetric automotive catalytic converters is studied numerically and experimentally for selected cases. The monolithic brick resistance is formulated from the pressure gradient of fully developed laminar duct-flow and corrected for the entrance effect. The monolithic brick downstream stabilizes the diffuser flows both physically and computationally. A distribution index was formulated to quantify the degree of nonuniformity in selected test cases. The test matrix covers a range of different diffuser angles and flow resistance (brick types). For simplicity, an axisymmetric geometry is chosen. Flow distribution within the monolith was found to depend strongly on diffuser performance, which is modified strongly by brick resistance. Pressure drop due to the headers and brick resistance and their relative roles is also identified. The implications of these data for converter design are discussed in terms of the trade-off between flow-uniformity and pressure drop.
Regulation by phosphorylation of Pho81p, a cyclin-dependent kinase inhibitor in Saccharomyces cerevisiae

Cyclins, cyclin-dependent kinases (CDK) and their inhibitors play a critical role in many biological processes. In yeast, the ankyrin repeat protein Pho81p, by being an inhibitor of the Pho85p–Pho80p cyclin-dependent protein kinase complex, transcriptionally regulates the production of repressible acid phosphatase, encoded by the PHO5 gene. Recent studies in our laboratory showed that Pho81p is phosphorylated by the Pho80p–Pho85p CDK complex in vitro; and, to determine the significance of the phosphorylation, we used site-directed mutagenesis to alter the potential phosphorylation sites for this kinase complex. The resulting mutations were introduced into a yeast strain containing a deletion of PHO81 and the effect of the mutation on PHO5 expression was assayed. Results suggest that phosphorylation of particular residues within Pho81p is crucial for its activity as an inhibitor. Studies using a green fluorescent protein–Pho81p fusion and Western analysis indicate that the localization and half-life of the mutants are similar to wild-type Pho81 proteins. However, an in vivo binding assay indicates that the mutant Pho81p is deficient in binding to the Pho80p–Pho85p kinase complex. These findings support the observation that the mutant fails to inhibit kinase activity in low phosphate. These studies provide insight into the mechanism of regulation of CDK inhibitor activity.
Teacher and parent perceptions of behavior problems among a sample of African American, Hispanic, and non-Hispanic white studients

A multiracial/multiethnic sample of middle school adolescents and their teachers was used to assess whether teacher ratings of student behavior problems varied according to teacher-student racial/ethnic differences and students' perception of teachers' attitudes toward them. No significant mean score differences were found for Hispanic or non-Hispanic white students according to the race/ethnicity of the teachers doing the ratings. However, African American students rated by Hispanic and non-Hispanic white teachers had significantly higher mean total behavior problem scores than African American students rated by African American teachers. Teacher ratings were also compared to those made by parents. The percentage of students rated as cases by teachers but not by parents differed significantly by race/ethnicity of student. Other findings indicated highly significant relationships between student-perceived teacher disparagement and the assignment of high behavior problem scores to students by teachers.