cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Differential gene expression in the duodenum, jejunum and ileum among crossbred beef steers with divergent gain and feed intake phenotypes.

Small intestine mass and cellularity were previously associated with cattle feed efficiency. The small intestine is responsible for the digestion of nutrients and absorption of fatty acids, amino acids and carbohydrates, and it contributes to the overall feed efficiency of cattle. The objective of this study was to evaluate transcriptome differences among the small intestine from cattle with divergent gain and feed intake. Animals most divergent from the bivariate mean in each of the four phenotypic Cartesian quadrants for gain × intake were selected, and the transcriptomes of duodenum, jejunum and ileum were evaluated. Gene expression analyses were performed comparing high gain vs. low gain animals, high intake vs. low intake animals and each of the phenotypic quadrants to all other groups. Genes differentially expressed within the high gain-low intake and low gain-high intake groups of animals included those involved in immune function and inflammation in all small intestine sections. The high gain-high intake group differed from the high gain-low intake group by immune response genes in all sections of the small intestine. In all sections of small intestine, animals with low gain-low intake displayed greater abundance of heat-shock genes compared to other groups. Several over-represented pathways were identified. These include the antigen-processing/presentation pathway in high gain animals and PPAR signaling, starch/sucrose metabolism, retinol metabolism and melatonin degradation pathways in the high intake animals. Genes with functions in immune response, inflammation, stress response, influenza pathogenesis and melatonin degradation pathways may have a relationship with gain and intake in beef steers.
Data Mining and Business Intelligence: Tools, Technologies, and Applications

Most businesses generate, are surrounded by, and are even overwhelmed by data — much of it never used to its full potential for gaining insights into one’s own business, customers, competition, and overall business environment. By using a technique known as data mining, it is possible to extract critical and useful patterns, associations, relationships, and, ultimately, useful knowledge from the raw data available to businesses. This chapter explores data mining and its benefits and capabilities as a key tool for obtaining vital business intelligence information. The chapter includes an overview of data mining, followed by its evolution, methods, technologies, applications, and future. This chapter appears in the book, Business Intelligence in the Digital Economy, edited by Mahesh S. Raisinghani. Copyright © 2004, Idea Group Inc. Copying or distributing in print or electronic forms without written permission of Idea Group Inc. is prohibited. 701 E. Chocolate Avenue, Suite 200, Hershey PA 17033-1240, USA Tel: 717/533-8845; Fax 717/533-8661; URL-http://www.idea-group.com IDEA GROUP PUBLISHING
Multidetector Computed Tomography

Publisher Summary Multidetector computed tomography (MDCT) scanners have the ability to provide true isotropic data, allowing for exquisite anatomic detail in any plane necessary to display the findings to best clinical advantage. The image quality of MDCT is an advance over earlier technology, and many of the difficulties associated with SDCT are mitigated by MDCT. The potential artifacts having significant impact on diagnostic performance include physic-based (beam hardening and partial volume effects), patient-based (metallic materials and motion), and scanner-based artifacts. The X-ray beam is made up of an array of photon energies, so as the beam passes through a patient the lower energy photons are absorbed more rapidly resulting in a higher energy or “harder” beam. This results in two important changes. First, because the beam reaching the detector is of higher energy than expected, the resulting attenuation values differ from actual attenuation. Second, streaks might run across the image depending on the attenuation of the object through which the beam passes. The data acquired at MDCT are a three-dimensional data set made up of individual voxels. Given a z-axis resolution equal to x-y resolution, a ray passed through the volume at any angle can be used to make the image. The simplest reformation is to display a different plane in two dimensions, typically the coronal or sagittal plane (perpendicular to the axial image).
Legislating a Sustainable Land Ethic for New Zealand

This article explores competing discourses of sustainability in New Zealand's South Island. As active resource managers, high-country pastoralist's conception of "country" contests predominant reductive and binary models of production/conservation and economic resource/visual resource and suggests a more complicated dynamic between scientific and cultural paradigms of sustainability than has been acknowledged. This dynamic is captured in the internationally driven top-down concept of equitable sustainable land management with a dual commitment to both cultural and ecological diversity as defined locally, formulated as part of the United Nations Rio Declaration of 1992, agenda 21, chapter 13. I examine an emergent high-country "land ethic" by exploring textually and ethnographically the legislative arenas within which discourses of sustainability have been defined and by examining the relationship of economic, ecological, and community sustainability to "country." The article elicits the cultural components of a remarkably transnational and yet strategically local high-country understanding of sustainable land management.
Mapping and puncturing of coded bits with higher-order signal constellations

Constrained interleaved coded modulation technique known to map coded bits of outer block codes onto a higher-order constellation is extended with suitable adjustments for outer convolutional codes. A novel puncturing technique based on the mapping is proposed to generate powerful punctured coded schemes. It is demonstrated that the proposed mapping and puncturing techniques are significantly better than their traditional counterparts.
Preparation of Blends

The preparation of a blend is important both from the point of view of its properties and its economics. In this section the discussion will center on the influence of preparation method on the properties of the blend. Further insight into blending technology will be provided in the lectures on Rubber Blends, Processing and Rheology, and Interfacial Agents.
Hypocalcemic and Hypomagnesemic Seizures

The clinical findings and neurologic outcome of 15 newborn infants with seizures due to hypocalcemia (HC) and hypomagnesemia (HM) admitted to St Louis Children’s Hospital are reported from Washington University, St Louis.
The density of the strong symmetric genus values of p-groups

ABSTRACTLet G be a finite group. The strong symmetric genus σ0(G) is the minimum genus of any Riemann surface on which G acts faithfully and preserving orientation. Let p a prime, and let Jp be the set of integers g for which there is a p-group of strong symmetric genus g. We show that the set Jp has density zero in the set of positive integers.
SERUM PROLIDASE ACTIVITY IN STABLE CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE AND ACUTE MYOCARDIAL INFARCTION

Background: Collagen is a major determinant of atherosclerotic plaque stability and prolidase is a rate-limiting enzyme in the breakdown and formation of collagen. We sought to determine prolidase activity at the time of acute myocardial infarction (MI) as compared to quiescent state and to patients
Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm Screening Practices: Impact of the 2014 U.S. Preventive Services Task Force Recommendations.

Abstract Purpose To assess changes in abdominal aortic aneurysm (AAA) ultrasound screening associated with the release of revised U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) recommendations on June 24, 2014. Methods All AAA screening ultrasound examinations performed in the Massachusetts General Hospital radiology department in the 15 months before and after the new guidelines were retrospectively reviewed to assess changes in examination volume and appropriateness, demographics, aneurysm detection rate and size at diagnosis, frequency and type of incidental findings, and radiologist recommendations. Examinations were considered "definitely appropriate" if meeting USPSTF grade "B" evidence and "possibly appropriate" if meeting grade "C" or "I" evidence, based on available guidelines. Means were compared with the t test. Results A total of 831 examinations were reviewed, 417 (50.2%) performed before and 414 (49.8%) after the new guidelines, with overall mean (SD) subject age 67.9 (6.8) years, 89.2% male. Appropriate examinations increased from 289 of 417 (69.3%) to 313 of 414 (75.6%) after the new guidelines ( P = .04), mostly due to definitely appropriate examinations (253/417 [60.7%] versus 286/414 [69.1%], P = .01). Aneurysm detection rates increased from 23 of 417 (5.5%) to 39 of 414 (9.4%), P = .03. Mean (SD) aneurysm size (cm) at diagnosis decreased from 3.8 (0.7) to 3.3 (0.6), P = .01. Examination volume, demographics, and rates of incidentals and recommendations remained similar. Incidentals arose in 15.4% of all examinations, often iliac artery aneurysms or renal masses. Recommendations were made in 5.1%, mostly for cross-sectional imaging. Conclusions The revised USPSTF guidelines have been associated with increased AAA screening appropriateness and aneurysm detection in our practice, with smaller aneurysm size at diagnosis.
An atypical presentation of Paget's Disease of the breast without nipple involvement: Case report and review of the literature

We present a case of a 63 year-old Caucasian female who developed a right breast skin lesion discrete from the nipple that was subsequently diagnosed as Paget's Disease of the breast (PDB). Imaging did not reveal an underlying breast cancer or involvement of the nipple. The patient underwent a segmental mastectomy preserving the nipple and final pathology demonstrated residual Paget's disease of the skin and did not reveal any additional underlying breast carcinoma. To our knowledge, this case represents the first reported diagnosed case of isolated PDB without nipple involvement.
Watershed-Scale Impacts from Surface Water Disposal of Oil and Gas Wastewater in Western Pennsylvania

Combining horizontal drilling with high volume hydraulic fracturing has increased extraction of hydrocarbons from low-permeability oil and gas (OG accompanied by increased wastewater production. Surface water discharges of O&G wastewater by centralized waste treatment (CWT) plants pose risks to aquatic and human health. We evaluated the impact of surface water disposal of O&G wastewater from CWT plants upstream of the Conemaugh River Lake (dam controlled reservoir) in western Pennsylvania. Regulatory compliance data were collected to calculate annual contaminant loads (Ba, Cl, total dissolved solids (TDS)) to document historical industrial activity. In this study, two CWT plants 10 and 19 km upstream of a reservoir left geochemical signatures in sediments and porewaters corresponding to peak industrial activity that occurred 5 to 10 years earlier. Sediment cores were sectioned for the collection of paired samples of sediment and porewater, and analyzed for analytes t...
Predator-based psychosocial stress model of PTSD differentially influences voluntary ethanol consumption depending on methodology.

Abstract Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a debilitating psychological disorder typified by diagnostic symptom clusters including hyperarousal, avoidance, negative cognitions and mood, and intrusive re-experiencing of the traumatic event. Patients with PTSD have been reported to self-medicate with alcohol to ameliorate hyperarousal symptoms associated with the disorder. Research utilizing rodent models of PTSD to emulate this behavioral phenomenon has thus far yielded inconsistent results. In the present study, we examined the effects of a predator-based psychosocial stress model of PTSD on voluntary ethanol consumption. In the first of two experiments, following exposure to a 31-day stress or control paradigm, rats were singly housed during the dark cycle with free access to 1% sucrose solution or 10% ethanol, which was also sweetened with 1% sucrose. Over the course of a 20-day period of ethanol access, stressed rats consumed significantly less ethanol than non-stressed rats. These counterintuitive results prompted the completion of a second experiment which was identical to the first, except rats were also exposed to the two-bottle paradigm for 20 days before the stress or control paradigm. In the second experiment, after the stress manipulation, stressed rats exhibited significantly greater ethanol preference than non-stressed rats. These findings suggest that prior exposure to ethanol influences the subsequent effect of stress on ethanol intake. They also validate the use of the present model of PTSD to examine potential mechanisms underlying stress-related changes in ethanol-seeking behavior.
A Construction Schema Theory for Recombination

Chapter 3 computed the probability that a hyperplane H k will survive recombination, given that one parent is in H k and that the other parent is arbitrary. However, as Syswerda (1989) pointed out, recombination can also be considered to have a more positive role — that of construction. Construction refers to having recombination create an instance of a hyperplane H k from both parents. As we will see, construction is a more general concept than simple survival.
Malnutrition and Infection

The ability of individuals to achieve their full potential depends upon an optimal interaction of genes and environment. Adverse factors that can retard such an achievement in underprivileged populations are legion. These are interlinked (Fig. 1). The prominent factors include poverty, malnutrition, infection, illiteracy, poor sanitation, sociocultural handicaps, and large sibships competing for limited resources. Malnutrition itself has a complex etiology. Food availability and nutrient intake are important determinants. However, many other factors play a significant role, including environmental contamination, absorption, and infectious disease. Changes in nutritional status can alter susceptibility to disease, manifestations of pathological states, and final outcome in terms of work capacity, morbidity, and survival.
Biomarkers of Necrosis in Heart Failure

Cardiac troponin I (cTnI) and cardiac troponin T (cTnT) are highly specific and sensitive biomarkers of necrosis. Although they are used primarily for the diagnosis of acute coronary syndromes, their application to the field of congestive heart failure (CHF) has now received significant interest. cTnI and cTnT provide valuable clinical information not available through other diagnostic methods and improve the laboratory characterization of CHF. They also allow accurate risk stratification and prognosis. An important aspect of their clinical use is the monitoring of therapeutic interventions in patients with heart failure. The inclusion of cardiac troponins in a multimarker strategy and the development of more sensitive immunoassays will likely further contribute to their acceptance as clinical tools in CHF.
The Identification Problem

This chapter introduces the identification problem and reviews some of the ways it has been studied in the literature. We offer a formal definition for the identification problem and present a familiar, but fundamental, algorithm for identification in the limit.
Ethics of PET Research in Children

Positron emission tomography (PET) technology offers clinical researchers the opportunity to gain unprecedented understanding of the neurobiologic correlates of pediatric illness. In contrast to other forms of functional neuroimaging, PET provides direct information on neurochemical activity, such as neurotransmitter function in the human brain (1). Such data may prove invaluable to the understanding of brain maturation and the development of novel pharmacologic treatments for children. However, because PET is a radionuclear medicine technique and children are classified as a vulnerable population requiring special safeguards, PET utilization in pediatric research is controversial. The involvement of healthy children in PET research is an especially contentious issue, and to date fewer than a dozen such studies have been conducted in the United States.
CapBand: Battery-free Successive Capacitance Sensing Wristband for Hand Gesture Recognition

We present CapBand, a battery-free hand gesture recognition wearable in the form of a wristband. The key challenges in creating such a system are (1) to sense useful hand gestures at ultra-low power so that the device can be powered by the limited energy harvestable from the surrounding environment and (2) to make the system work reliably without requiring training every time a user puts on the wristband. We present successive capacitance sensing, an ultra-low power sensing technique, to capture small skin deformations due to muscle and tendon movements on the user's wrist, which corresponds to specific groups of wrist muscles representing the gestures being performed. We build a wrist muscles-to-gesture model, based on which we develop a hand gesture classification method using both motion and static features. To eliminate the need for per-usage training, we propose a kernel-based on-wrist localization technique to detect the CapBand's position on the user's wrist. We prototype CapBand with a custom-designed capacitance sensor array on two flexible circuits driven by a custom-built electronic board, a heterogeneous material-made, deformable silicone band, and a custom-built energy harvesting and management module. Evaluations on 20 subjects show 95.0% accuracy of gesture recognition when recognizing 15 different hand gestures and 95.3% accuracy of on-wrist localization.
An Efficacy Study of a Digital Core Curriculum for Grade 5 Mathematics

The Math Curriculum Impact Study was a large-scale randomized controlled trial (RCT) to test the efficacy of a digital core curriculum for Grade 5 mathematics. Reasoning Mind’s Grade 5 Common Core ...
Before You Apply to Graduate Programs in Psychology: Knowing When You’re Ready and Gaining Postbaccalaureate Experiences

Do you want to go to graduate school to study psychology? If so, when? These extremely important decisions can be very difficult to consider for undergraduate students who are interested in psychology as a potential focus for their career. Unfortunately, little information is available to guide students through this difficult decision, and even less seems to be available to help students navigate the time between the receipt of their undergraduate degree and the time they decide to apply (i.e., “the postbaccalaureate years”). This chapter focuses on the process of assessing one’s personal interests while maximizing postbaccalaureate learning experiences. First, it is important to think about whether to take “time off” from school before applying. Next, how does one get a “postbacc” research job? Last, how can one use these years most effectively to help inform an application decision? Note: this chapter is likely biased towards research-oriented options; however, most of the information may be relevant to students with more applied interests as well.
The preleukemic syndrome: clinical and laboratory features, natural course, and management.

The clinical and laboratory features of the early stages in the evolution of acute nonlymphocytic leukemia are reviewed. Based on a retrospective analysis of 34 patients who died with an acute myelomonoblastic leukemia, the “preleukemic syndrome” has been shown to display a clinical picture sufficiently specific to permit its recognition prospectively (i.e., before the development of overt leukemia). The results to date of a variety of prospective studies are reviewed, and the approach(es) to the management of these cases is considered.
Urological Sequelae to Acute Spinal Cord Injury in Pet Dogs: A Natural Disease Model of Neuropathic Bladder Dysfunction.

The authors review urologic dysfunction, including urine retention, incontinence, and recurrent and resistant urinary tract infection, in dogs as a sequela to acute spinal cord injury. Urologic seq...
Deficient ER Acetyl-CoA Import in Acinar Cells Leads to Chronic Pancreatitis

Maintaining endoplasmic reticulum (ER) proteostasis is essential for pancreatic acinar cell function. Under conditions of severe ER stress, activation of pathogenic unfolded protein response pathways play a central role in the development and progression of pancreatitis. A key event in this pathogenic response is a loss of the transcription factor spliced XBP1 (XBP1s) and activation of the PERK pathway. Less is known of the consequence of perturbing ER-associated post-translational protein modification during pancreatitis. Here we show that expression of the ER acetyl-CoA transporter AT-1, necessary for ER protein acetylation, lies downstream of XBP1s and is significantly downregulated during the onset of pancreatitis. Genetic deletion of AT-1 in acinar cells of adult pancreas induces chronic ER stress marked by activation of both the XBP1s and PERK pathways, leading to mild/moderate chronic pancreatitis evidenced by accumulation of intracellular trypsin, immune cell infiltration, and fibrosis, but little pancreatic degeneration. Two-day induction of acute on chronic pancreatitis in AT-1 acinar specific knockout mice results in a severe CP phenotype with pronounced pancreatic atrophy. These findings uncover a new layer of complexity of the pathological ER stress response and its impact on pancreatic disease.
Gender differences in the association between childhood sexual abuse and risk behaviors among people living with HIV in Haiti.

Research shows that in the Caribbean one-third of people living with HIV continue to engage in unprotected sexual practices. Childhood sexual abuse (CSA) and HIV-related risk behaviors have been fo...
Cobalt-Catalyzed Hyperpolarization of Structurally Intact Olefins

Signal amplification by reversible exchange (SABRE) is a tool that generates hyperpolarized species via non-hydrogenative interactions between parahydrogen and selected nitrogen-/oxygen-/sulfur-con...
An Assessment of the Role of Parental Incarceration and Substance Misuse in Suicidal Planning of African American Youth and Young Adults

Suicide rates among youth are increasing, and African American youth are becoming the most likely group to die by suicide in the USA. We utilized ecodevelopmental theory to investigate the relationship between parental incarceration and substance misuse and their association with suicidal planning in a sample of African American youth and young adults. Participants consisted of 190 African American youth and young adults living in public housing in a mid-Atlantic city in the USA who completed a youth health-risk behavior measure, and parental incarceration and substance misuse measures. Findings indicate males were significantly more likely than females to have devised a plan to die by suicide, especially if their mothers were incarcerated or their fathers had an alcohol problem. The findings of this study suggest several implications for health prevention and intervention efforts to reduce suicide-related risks among African American youth and young adults, including strategies that promote family-centered, evidence-based interventions that are culturally tailored to provide further insight into the best practices in suicide prevention.
Hepatic effects of rumen-protected branched-chain amino acids with or without propylene glycol supplementation in dairy cows during early lactation

Essential amino acids (EAA) are critical for multiple physiological processes. Branched-chain amino acid (BCAA) supplementation provides energy substrates, promotes protein synthesis, and stimulates insulin secretion in rodents and humans. Most dairy cows face a protein and energy deficit during the first weeks postpartum and utilize body reserves to counteract this shortage. The objective was to evaluate the effect of rumen-protected BCAA (RP-BCAA; 375 g of 27% l-leucine, 85 g of 48% l-isoleucine, and 91 g of 67% l-valine) with or without oral propylene glycol (PG) administration on markers of liver health status, concentrations of nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) and β-hydroxybutyrate (BHB) in plasma, and liver triglycerides (TG) during the early postpartum period in dairy cows. Multiparous Holstein cows were enrolled in blocks of 3 and randomly assigned to either the control group or 1 of the 2 treatments from calving until 35 d postpartum. The control group (n = 16) received 200 g of dry molasses per cow/d; the RP-BCAA group (n = 14) received RP-BCAA mixed with 200 g of dry molasses per cow/d; the RP-BCAA plus PG (RP-BCAAPG) group (n = 16) received RP-BCAA mixed with 200 g of dry molasses per cow/d, plus 300 mL of PG, once daily from calving until 7 d in milk (DIM). The RP-BCAA and RP-BCAAGP groups, on average (± standard deviation), were predicted to receive a greater supply of metabolizable protein in the form of l-Leu 27.4 ± 3.5 g/d, l-Ile 15.2 ± 1.8 g/d, and l-Val 24.2 ± 2.4 g/d compared with the control cows. Liver biopsies were collected at d 9 ± 4 prepartum and at 5 ± 1 and 21 ± 1 DIM. Blood was sampled 3 times per week from calving until 21 DIM. Milk yield, dry matter intake, NEFA, BHB, EAA blood concentration, serum chemistry, insulin, glucagon, and liver TG and protein abundance of total and phosphorylated branched-chain ketoacid dehydrogenase E1α (p-BCKDH-E1α) were analyzed using repeated measures ANOVA. Cows in the RP-BCAA and RP-BCAAPG groups had lower liver TG and lower activities of aspartate aminotransferase and glutamate dehydrogenase during the first 21 DIM, compared with control. All cows, regardless of treatment, showed an upregulation of p-BCKDH-E1α at d 5 postpartum, compared with levels at 21 d postpartum. Insulin, Met, and Glu blood concentration were greater in RP-BCAA and RP-BCAAPG compared with control during the first 35 DIM. Therefore, the use of RP-BCAA in combination with PG might be a feasible option to reduce hepatic lipidosis in dairy cows during early lactation.
Vascular health and diffusion properties of normal appearing white matter in midlife.

In this study, we perform a region of interest diffusion tensor imaging and advanced diffusion complexity analysis of normal appearing white matter to determine the impact of vascular health on these diffusivity metrics in midlife adults. 77 participants (26 black, 35 female) at year 30 visit in the Coronary Artery Risk Development in Young Adults longitudinal study were scanned with an advanced diffusion-weighted imaging and fluid-attenuated inversion recovery protocol. Fractional anisotropy and non-linear diffusion complexity measures were estimated. Cumulative measures across 30 years (9 study visits) of systolic blood pressure, body mass index, glucose, smoking and cholesterol were calculated as the area under the curve from baseline up to year 30 examination. Partial correlation analyses assessed the association between cumulative vascular health measures and normal appearing white matter diffusion metrics in these participants. Midlife normal appearing white matter diffusion properties were significantly associated (P < 0.05) with cumulative exposure to vascular risk factors from young adulthood over the 30-year time period. Higher cumulative systolic blood pressure exposure was associated with increased complexity and decreased fractional anisotropy. Higher cumulative body mass index exposure was associated with decreased fractional anisotropy. Additionally, in the normal appearing white matter of black participants (P < 0.05), who exhibited a higher cumulative vascular risk exposure, fractional anisotropy was lower and complexity was higher in comparison to normal appearing white matter in white participants. Higher burden of vascular risk factor exposure from young adulthood to midlife is associated with changes in the diffusion properties of normal appearing white matter in midlife. These changes which may reflect axonal disruption, increased inflammation and/or increased glial proliferation, were primarily observed in both anterior and posterior normal appearing white matter regions of the corpus callosum. These results suggest that microstructural changes in normal appearing white matter are sensitive to vascular health during young adulthood and are possibly therapeutic targets in interventions focused on preserving white matter health across life.
Brilliant Disguise: An Empirical Analysis of a Social Experiment Banning Affirmative Action

INTRODUCTION 1197 I. THE EMERGENCE OF REACTIONARY COLOR BLINDNESS 1208 II. METHODOLOGY 1214 III. THE RESULTS 1217 A. AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SCHOOL SAMPLE VS. ANTI–AFFIRMATIVE ACTION SCHOOL SAMPLE 1217 B. SOLE MINORITY CLASS ATTENDEES: SAMPLE VS. NO SOLE MINORITY CLASS ATTENDEES 1227 IV. DISCUSSION 1233 A. SILENCING 1235 B. PERFORMING IN WHITE SPACES 1237 C. IMPOSITION 1240 D. DIVERSITY PART 1 1242 E. CRITICAL MASS/DIVERSITY PART 2 1243 CONCLUSION 1244 APPENDIX A: AFFIRMATIVE ACTION AND STUDENT EXPERIENCES 1245 APPENDIX B: NOTES ON METHODOLOGY AND ANALYSIS 1252
Neoplastic meningitis

Neoplastic meningitis (NM) is a common problem in neurooncology, occurring in approximately 5% of all patients with cancer. Notwithstanding frequent focal signs and symptoms, NM is a disease that affects the entire neuraxis; therefore, staging and treatment need to encompass all cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) compartments. Central nervous system (CNS) staging of NM includes contrast-enhanced cranial computerized tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, contrastenhanced spine magnetic resonance imaging or computerized tomographic myelography, and radionuclide CSF flow study. Treatment of NM involves involved-field radiotherapy of bulky or symptomatic disease sites and intra-CSF drug therapy. The inclusion of concomitant systemic therapy may benefit patients with NM and may obviate the need for intra-CSF chemotherapy. At present, intra-CSF drug therapy is confined to three chemotherapeutic agents (ie, methotrexate, cytosine arabinoside, and thio-triethylene thiophosphoramide) administered by a variety of schedules either by intralumbar or intraventricular drug delivery. Although treatment of NM is palliative with an expected median patient survival of 2 to 6 months, it often affords stabilization and protection from further neurologic deterioration in patients with NM.
Traumatic Hip Dislocation in an NCAA DI Football Player with Occult Sequelae: A Case Report.

# Background and Purpose American football generates the most sports-related injuries in the United States, with tackling as the leading injury mechanism. Overall injury rate at the collegiate level has been reported as 8.61 per 1,000 athlete exposures (AEs) – twice the rate of high school levels; competition injury rates are reported as high as 36.94/1000 AEs. Traumatic hip dislocation is an uncommon injury typically arising from high-energy axial impact with only 2-5.5% occurring during sports activities. # Case Description A 22-year-old NCAA Division I football defensive back who experienced extreme left hip pain following contact with another player with his hip flexed during a game was diagnosed with a type 1 posterior hip dislocation, a grade 1 medial collateral ligament sprain with concomitant posterior thigh and hip muscle strains. Key impairments were limited left lower extremity motor performance, range of motion deficits, left hip pain, and diminished function and weight-bearing ability. # Outcomes The athlete reintegrated into typical defensive back off-season training approximately four to five months post injury without restrictions, however presented with new anterior hip pain seven months post injury revealing occult sequelae requiring surgical intervention. He was able to return to full play the following football season. # Discussion This case report describes the successful return to sport of a Division I football player who sustained a traumatic posterior hip dislocation and complicated course including surgical intervention secondary to associated sequelae. # Level of Evidence 5
If I told you everyone picked that (non-affordant) tool, would you? Children attend to conventional language when imitating and transmitting tool use.

Abstract This study explored how conventional versus instrumental language influenced children’s imitation and transmission of non-affordant tool use. Rather than examining children’s imitation of unnecessary actions that do not impede goal completion, we examined children’s conformity with a modeled behavior that may result in sacrificing goal completion. Children (N = 96 4- to 6-year-olds) were presented with either a conventional or instrumental description of a model’s actions before watching the model choose a non-affordant tool. Children who heard conventional language imitated and transmitted the model’s non-affordant tool choice at significantly higher rates than when they heard instrumental language. The results have implications for children, parents, and teachers regarding the extent to which children will conform with what “we” are “supposed” to do.
Alcohol and the brain: from genes to circuits

Alcohol use produces wide-ranging and diverse effects on the central nervous system. It influences intracellular signaling mechanisms, leading to changes in gene expression, chromatin remodeling, and translation. As a result of these molecular alterations, alcohol affects the activity of neuronal circuits. Together, these mechanisms produce long-lasting cellular adaptations in the brain that in turn can drive the development and maintenance of alcohol use disorder (AUD). We provide an update on alcohol research, focusing on multiple levels of alcohol-induced adaptations, from intracellular changes to changes in neural circuits. A better understanding of how alcohol affects these diverse and interlinked mechanisms may lead to the identification of novel therapeutic targets and to the development of much-needed novel and efficacious treatment options.
Social and caring tutors: ITS 2010 keynote addres

If computers are to interact naturally with humans, they must express social competencies and recognize human emotion. This talk describes the role of technology in responding to both affect and cognition and examines research to identify student emotions (frustration, boredom and interest) with around 80% accuracy using hardware sensors and student self-reports. We also discuss “caring” computers that use animated learning companions to talk about the malleability of intelligence and importance of effort and perseverance. Gender differences were noted in the impact of these companions on student affect as were differences for students with learning disabilities. In both cases, students who used companions showed improved math attitudes, increased motivation and reduced frustration and anxiety over the long term. We also describe social tutors that scaffold collaborative problem solving in ill-defined domains. These tutors use deep domain understanding of students' dialogue to recognize (with over 85% accuracy) students who are engaged in useful learning activities. Finally, we describe tutors that help online participants engaged in situations involving differing opinions, e.g., in online dispute mediation, bargaining, and civic deliberation processes.
Transcriptional regulation of cytochrome d in nitrogen-fixing Azotobacter vinelandii. Evidence that up-regulation during N2 fixation is independent of nifA but dependent on ntrA.

Abstract Cytochrome d has been postulated to be the "respiratory protection" oxidase of Azotobacter vinelandii, allowing this organism to fix nitrogen under aerobic growth conditions. We have previously cloned and characterized the structural genes for the A. vinelandii cytochrome d (cydA and cydB). The cyd genes are co-transcribed, yielding an mRNA of approximately 3.6 kilobase pairs. The level of the cyd message was 2-3-fold higher in cells that were fixing nitrogen, as compared with non-nitrogen-fixing cells. RNase protection analysis was used to determine the transcriptional start site at 275 bases upstream of the initiator ATG of cydA, and this start site was the same for nitrogen-fixing and non-nitrogen-fixing cells. The cyd promoter has sequence similarities to the canonical Escherichia coli promoters, which are transcribed by the major sigma 70 form of RNA polymerase. Plasmid-borne lacZ transcriptional fusions were constructed, using approximately 650 base pairs of 5'-upstream sequences of the cyd structural genes. This region had a strong promoter activity which was further up-regulated 1.5-2.5-fold upon the induction of nitrogen fixation. The cyd-lacZ fusions were characterized in a nifA- as well as an ntrA- background. Mutations in neither of these nif regulatory genes affected the constitutive expression of cyd under non-nitrogen-fixing conditions. However, the up-regulation of this promoter during the induction of nitrogen fixation was abolished only in the ntrA- background. Based on these results, the cytochrome d promoter of A. vinelandii belongs to a new class of nitrogen-regulated promoters which, unlike the authentic nif genes, does not require the ntrA gene product for its expression. The up-regulation of this promoter during nitrogen fixation, however, requires the ntrA gene product.
Abstract 16843: Protease-Activated Receptor 4 Improves Cardiac Function in Models of Viral, Ischemic and Dilated Cardiomyopathy

Introduction: Cardiomyocytes are a major source of protease-activated receptor 4 (PAR4), in the heart. PAR4 activation facilitates a unique signaling pathway in cardiomyocytes through the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) and src kinase in vitro. EGFR signaling is known to mediate survival of cardiomyocytes and enhance antiviral pathways. Hypothesis: Here, we investigated if cardiac PAR4 mediates protective effects in three different heart failure models in vivo. Methods: PAR4-/- mice and wild-type (WT) littermates were compared in models of viral, ischemic or dilated cardiomyopathy. Cardiac injury was analyzed by cardiac troponin I (cTnI) ELISA. Gene expression analyses were performed with ELISA and RT-PCR. Changes in heart dimension and function were evaluated by echocardiography. Results: PAR4 expression was protective in a coxsackievirus B3 (CVB3) viral cardiomyopathy model. PAR4-/- mice had higher cTnI plasma levels compared to WT mice 8d post infection with 10^5 plaque forming units of CVB3 (cTnI: 3.82±0.97 vs. 1.46±0.35ng/mL; P<0.05) and reduced IFNβ and expression of the IFN-response gene CXCL10. The increased injury at day 8 caused more cardiac remodeling leading to increased left ventricular (LV) dilatation and impaired heart function (fractional shortening [FS]: 27.02±1.45 vs. 32.73±2.16%, P<0.05) 28d after CVB3 infection. In cardiac ischemia/reperfusion injury, PAR4-/- mice exhibited higher plasma levels of cTnI after 30min ischemia and 2h reperfusion compared to WT mice (cTnI: 61.2±7.2 vs. 25.3±2.4 ng/mL; P<0.05). The greater injury in PAR4-/- mice led to more pronounced LV dilatation and impaired LV function after 28d of reperfusion compared to WT mice (FS: 30.92±1.02 vs. 38.55±1.32%; P<0.05). Lastly, in a dilated cardiomyopathy model, PAR4 deficiency was associated with increased cardiac injury (cTnI: 1.03±0.38 vs. 0.13±0.01 ng/mL; P<0.05), increased LV dilatation and more pronounced impairment of LV function (FS: 27.02±1.53 vs. 36.12±1.79%; P<0.05) 5d after administration of doxorubicin (20mg/kg). Conclusions: Our study indicate that PAR4 mediates protective signaling during viral, ischemic and dilated cardiomyopathy progression in the heart, which may be mediated via EGFR transactivation.
Analysis of coupling strength in multi-domain magneto-systems

In recent years, novel devices which use nanomagnets to store and transmit information have been a particular topic of interest. Many of these devices utilize dipolar coupling between nanomagnets to process or communicate information and the most important factor when designing these systems is knowing if two nanomagnets are perfectly coupled [1]. However, when modeling these devices, these nanomagnets are typically modeled as single-domain objects even though in many cases, the magnet dimensions far exceed the exchange length [2]. While it is expected that very small magnets can be treated as single-domain objects, it is not quite clear how small is small enough. Second, it is not clear whether using a single-domain analysis underestimates or overestimates the coupling. In this work, we quantify the coupling between nanomagnets while considering their multi-domain behavior. Our simulations conclusively prove that ignoring multi-domain effects beyond a certain size yields inaccurate results. While the single-domain assumption predicts similar coupling strength to the multi-domain models for thin-film magnets with areas smaller than 1 µm2, the two models disagree about the coupling strength between larger magnets.
Etherthreads : an infrastructure for location-based messages

Mobile phones and mobile computing in general have a unique advantage over standard computing in that they have an additional channel of information through which the user may passively convey context. This channel is the places that the user brings the device. It is natural to assume that the user would like his or her device to behave differently at work, at home and at the grocery store. This paper proposes an infrastructure for location-based services for Bluetooth enabled cellular phones, and specifically explores its use through location-based messages. Location-based messaging uses location and other context information to make decisions on the most appropriate messages to display or alert the user to.
Using the Yield Curve to Time the Stock Market

In the study reported here, we extended the probit model for forecasting an economic recession by using the yield-curve spread as the explanatory variable to forecast a bear stock market and tested market-timing strategies based on the model. We found that the value of the yield spread between the composite 10-year+ U.S. T-bond yield and the three-month T-bill yield holds important information about the probability of a bear stock market. We discuss our out-of-sample market-timing tests at various probability screens of a forthcoming bear market in one month. At a 50 percent probability screen, our simulations show that, for the period studied, a market timer switching out of stocks (T-bills) into T-bills (stocks) one month before a bear (bull) stock market could have realized a compound annual return of 16.46 percent versus 14.17 percent from a stock-only buy-and-hold strategy. This result is economically significant.
Output Fluctuations and Monetary Shocks: Evidence from Colombia

Using annual data for Colombia over the last 30 years, we test opposing theories that explain macroeconomic fluctuations: the neoclassical synthesis, which posits that in the presence of temporary price rigidity an unanticipated monetary expansion produces output gains that erode over time with increases in the price level; and an alternative explanation, which focuses on "real" technological or preference shocks as the sources of output changes. Coefficients from this system are used to examine the long-run neutrality of nominal quantities with respect to permanent movements in the money stock and the short-run sensitivity of output to inflation.
marked: an R package for maximum likelihood and Markov Chain Monte Carlo analysis of capture–recapture data

Summary We describe an open-source r package, marked, for analysis of mark–recapture data to estimate survival and animal abundance. Currently, marked is capable of fitting Cormack–Jolly–Seber (CJS) and Jolly–Seber models with maximum likelihood estimation (MLE) and CJS models with Bayesian Markov Chain Monte Carlo methods. The CJS models can be fitted with MLE using optimization code in R or with Automatic Differentiation Model Builder. The latter allows incorporation of random effects. Some package features include: (i) individual-specific time intervals between sampling occasions, (ii) generation of optimization starting values from generalized linear model approximations and (iii) prediction of demographic parameters associated with unique combinations of individual and time-specific covariates. We demonstrate marked with a commonly analysed European dipper (Cinclus cinclus) data set. The package will be most useful to ecologists with large mark–recapture data sets and many individual covariates.
Technical writing as a speciality

Good technical writing can enhance the quality of service to users by not only providing readable documentation, but by providing a different point of view in design and debugging of programs and systems that are being documented.
Recent Advances in the Diagnosis and Management of Cirrhosis-Associated Cardiomyopathy in Liver Transplant Candidates: Advanced Echo Imaging, Cardiac Biomarkers, and Advanced Heart Failure Therapies

Patients with end-stage liver disease in need of liver transplantation increasingly are older with a greater burden of cardiac disease and other co-morbidities, which may increase perioperative risk and adversely affect long-term prognosis. Cirrhosis of any etiology manifests hemodynamically as a state of low systemic vascular resistance, with high peripheral, but low central blood volume, leading to a state of neurohormonal activation and high cardiac output, which may adversely affect cardiac reserve under extreme perioperative stress, aptly termed cirrhosis-associated or cirrhotic cardiomyopathy. Evidence of asymptomatic cirrhotic cardiomyopathy may be found in subtle electrocardiographic and echocardiographic changes, but may progress to severe heart failure under the demands of bleeding and transfusions, vasopressors, rebounding peripheral vascular resistance, withdrawal of cardioprotective beta-blockers and mineralocorticoid antagonists, exacerbated by sepsis or systemic inflammatory response syndrome. This review will add to the current body of literature on cirrhotic cardiomyopathy by focusing on the role of advanced echocardiographic imaging techniques, cardiac biomarkers, and advanced heart failure therapies available to manage patients with cirrhotic cardiomyopathy while waiting for liver transplant and during the perioperative period.
Optical carrier-based microwave interferometers for sensing application

Optical fiber interferometers (OFIs) have been extensively utilized for precise measurements of various physical/chemical quantities (e.g., temperature, strain, pressure, rotation, refractive index, etc.). However, the random change of polarization states along the optical fibers and the strong dependence on the materials and geometries of the optical waveguides are problematic for acquiring high quality interference signal. Meanwhile, difficulty in multiplexing has always been a bottleneck on the application scopes of OFIs. Here, we present a sensing concept of optical carrier based microwave interferometry (OCMI) by reading optical interferometric sensors in microwave domain. It combines the advantages from both optics and microwave. The low oscillation frequency of the microwave can hardly distinguish the optical differences from both modal and polarization dispersion making it insensitive to the optical waveguides/materials. The phase information of the microwave can be unambiguitly resolved so that it has potential in fully distributed sensing. The OCMI concept has been implemented in different types of interferometers (i.e., Michelson, Mach-Zehnder, Fabry-Perot) among different optical waveguides (i.e., singlemode, multimode, and sapphire fibers) with excellent signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and low polarization dependence. A spatially continuous distributed strain sensing has been demonstrated.