cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mom—It Helps When You're Right Here! Attenuation of Neural Stress Markers in Anxious Youths Whose Caregivers Are Present during fMRI

Close proximity to an attachment figure, such as a caregiver, has been shown to attenuate threat-related activity in limbic regions such as the hypothalamus in healthy individuals. We hypothesized that such features might be similarly attenuated by proximity during a potentially stressful situation in a clinically anxious population of youths. Confirmation of this hypothesis could support the role of attachment figures in the management of anxiety among children and adolescents. Three groups were analyzed: anxious children and adolescents who requested that their caregiver accompany them in the scanner room, anxious children and adolescents without their caregiver in the scanner room and healthy controls (each of N=10). The groups were matched for age and, among the two anxious groups, for diagnosis (mean age 9.5). The children and adolescents were exposed to physical threat words during an fMRI assessment. Results indicate that activity in the hypothalamus, ventromedial, and ventrolateral prefrontal cortex were significantly reduced in anxious children and adolescents who requested that their caregiver accompany them in the scanner room compared to those without their caregiver in the scanner room. Mean activity in these regions in anxious children and adolescents with their caregiver in the scanner room was comparable to that of healthy controls. These data suggest links between social contact and neural mechanisms of emotional reactivity; specifically, presence of caregivers moderates the increase in anxiety seen with stressful stimuli. Capitalizing on the ability of anxious youths to manifest low levels of anxiety-like information processing in the presence of a caregiver could help in modeling adaptive function in behavioral treatments.
Optimization of MALDI-TOF MS for strain level differentiation of Arthrobacter isolates.

Abstract Matrix-assisted laser-desorption/ionization time-of-flight mass spectrometry (MALDI-TOF MS) has been shown to be a rapid and sensitive method for characterization of bacteria, but it has not yet become a routine microbiological procedure. Currently there are no standardized protocols that would allow development of large libraries of reproducible protein profiles from a broad range of microorganisms to use for identification purposes. Important variables that may affect spectrum quality are MALDI matrices, solvents, cell growth condition, and culture age. In the present study our aim was to: (1) to determine optimal sample preparation and MALDI conditions for discrimination at the strain level; (2) to determine if changes in growth cycle correlated with MALDI spectrum changes; and (3) to compare level of isolate discrimination based on their MALDI spectra versus their 16S rRNA gene sequence. Using 16 strains of the Gram positive bacterium Arthrobacter , optimal spectra were obtained using two-layer sample application of intact cells grown on solid surface overlaid with a matrix consisting of sinapinic acid (SA) or α-cyano-hydroxy-cinnaminic acid (CHCA) in 50 : 50 acetonitrile : water solvent with 2% trifluoroacetic acid. Spectrum changes paralleled the coccus–rod–coccus growth cycle indicative of Arthrobacter . Strain differences based on their MALDI profiles (using Pearson coefficient and UPGMA) corresponded with their 16S rRNA gene phylogeny but it had greater discrimination.
Performance Prediction of Ultrascaled SiGe/Si Core/Shell Electron and Hole Nanowire MOSFETs

The performances of ultrascaled SiGe nanowire field-effect transistors (NWFETs) are investigated using an atomistic tight-binding model and a virtual crystal approximation to describe the Si and Ge atoms. It is first demonstrated that the band edges and the effective masses of both relaxed and strained SiGe bulk are accurately reproduced by our model. The band structure model is then coupled to a top-of-the-barrier quantum transport approach to simulate the output characteristics of ultrascaled n/p SiGe NWFETs and explore their viability for future high-performance CMOS applications. We predict a considerable improvement of SiGe nFETs and pFETs over their Si counterparts for SiGe/Si core/shell structures.
Dilation and Reduced Distensibility of Rat Carotid Artery with Aging

To better understand the pathogenesis of increased arterial stiffening with aging, the relative contribution of geometry (lumen diameter) and stiffening of wall components (elastic modulus) to reduced distensibility of rat carotid artery in the early stages of aging was investigated. Pressure-volume (distensibility) relationships were measured in excised, in vitro perfused right carotid artery of 7-. 10- and 20-month old, male Sprague-Dawley rats. The left carotid artery of rats was perfusion-fixed in situ at 100 mm Hg and then embedded in epoxy for morphometric measurements. Compared to 7- and 10-month old rats, there was dilation (increased lumen diameter), increased wall thickness, and reduced distensibility and unchanged elastic moduli of carotid artery in 20-month old rats. Dilation (with early recruitment of collagen fibrils during pressure rise) rather than increased stiffness of wall components appears to be the cause of reduced distensibility of rat carotid artery in the early stages of aging.
Tersoff-Type Potentials for Carbon, Hydrogen and Oxygen

The application of Tersoff-type potentials are illustrated for examples from three distinct classes of chemical systems: a covalently-bonded solid (carbon), a gas-phase few-body reactive system (H3), and a molecular solid (oxygen). For carbon, the potential energy expression yields stable planar graphite layers as well as a stable diamond phase, both with correct densities and binding energies. The potential also predicts the π-bonded chain structure to be the energetically-preferred reconstruction on the {111} surface of diamond, in agreement with ab initio studies. For hydrogen the potential provides a quantitative description of accurate ab initio energies. The oxygen potential describes both the O2 and O3 molecules, and qualitatively describes intramolecular bonding in the condensed phase.
Hydrogenation of semiconductor surfaces: Si and Ge (111).

The relaxations of hydrogenated Si and Ge (111) surfaces are determined using ab initio self-consistent calculations in a slab configuration. The Si-H and Ge-H bonds are found to be considerably larger than the sum of covalent radii. The substrate relaxations are small and their physical origin can be explained in terms of electronic charge transfer which eliminates the surface dipole moment. The calculated frequencies of the hydrogen vibrational modes are in excellent agreement with experiment. A surface-atom vibrational mode is compared to similar modes in the amorphous hydrogenated materials. The comparison predicts that internal surfaces (microvoids) in the amorphous network are locally much softer than the corresponding crystalline surface configuration.
Therapeutic exercise in chronic neck and back pain

Abstract Research regarding the effect of exercise on chronic benign axial pain is reviewed. Both chronic low back pain (LBP) and chronic neck pain are associated with weakness of the trunk and neck musculature; however, it is unknown whether weakness is a cause or effect. The relationship between incoordination of the neck or trunk musculature and chronic pain is unclear. Exercise is associated with improved strength and endurance and decreased pain in subjects with LBP but the literature is very sparse with respect to chronic neck pain. Range-of-motion is also diminished in those with LBP and improves with exercise, and is associated with abatement in symptoms. No evidence could be found regarding the effect of exercise on segmental motion. Exercise is also associated with improved function, however the mechanism whereby either pain report or function improves is unclear. A greater understanding of the role of exercise will require more specific studies of strength, coordination, motion, function, and pain.
Neither Concepts Nor Lotfi Zadeh are Fuzzy Sets

In the 1960s and ’70s at the University of California, Berkeley, two people at opposite ends of the campus were doing work that challenged applications of classical set theory. In the Department of Computer Science, Lotfi Zadeh noticed that phenomena in the world do not necessarily come in the all-or-none packages required by classical sets (for example, a man may be tall to a degree), and he set out to devise a mathematical calculus by which matters of degree could be encompassed within a variant of classical logic. He gave it the name fuzzy logic. In the Department of Psychology, Eleanor Rosch (who happens to be myself) was doing empirical psychological research on the nature of concepts and categorization, matters that, from the time of the Greeks, had been assumed to have the basic form of classical sets. The prevailing belief was that humans categorized by identifying necessary and sufficient conditions for an item to belong to a category; once such criteria were met, all items that belonged to the category were equivalent with respect to membership; and the meaning of conceptual combinations could be explained by the operations of classical logic. My research indicated that nothing about this model was true either for the representation, processing or use of natural language concepts and categorizations. One of the ways in which people differ from the model is that they see category membership as a matter of degree (e.g. apple is judged a better fruit than plum, blueberry, etc.), a finding that is psychologically important because degree of membership predicts the other psychological operations on categories. It is also a finding that might, on the surface, appear to unite this research with fuzzy logic.
The Cost Consequences of Breaking up Large Banks: Do Large Banks Enjoy Technological Cost Advantages?

Proposals to break up the largest banks seek to reduce the systemic risk they impose on the economy. However, if these banks experience scale economies that reduce the average cost of their financial products and services, breaking them into smaller institutions might reduce their ability to compete in global markets and provide them with incentives to evade break up and operate outside the regulated financial system - with the potential for new sources of systemic risk. Textbooks assert that large scale is associated with such cost economies, but the evidence for these economies is difficult to obtain. Is such evidence illusive or elusive? This paper explores some of the published evidence and the reasons why it is elusive, not illusive.
Biophysical Properties of Cadherin Bonds Do Not Predict Cell Sorting

Differential binding between cadherin subtypes is widely believed to mediate cell sorting during embryogenesis. However, a fundamental unanswered question is whether cell sorting is dictated by the biophysical properties of cadherin bonds, or by broader, cadherin-dependent differences in intercellular adhesion or membrane tension. This report describes atomic force microscope measurements of the strengths and dissociation rates of homophilic and heterophilic cadherin (CAD) bonds. Measurements conducted with chicken N-CAD, canine E-CAD, and Xenopus C-CAD demonstrated that all three cadherins cross-react and form multiple, intermolecular bonds. The mechanical and kinetic properties of the heterophilic bonds are similar to the homophilic interactions. The thus quantified bond parameters, together with previously reported adhesion energies were further compared with in vitro cell aggregation and sorting assays, which are thought to mimic in vivo cell sorting. Trends in quantified biophysical properties of the different cadherin bonds do not correlate with sorting outcomes. These results suggest that cell sorting in vivo and in vitro is not governed solely by biophysical differences between cadherin subtypes.
A “bright blue ball”, “brushed with clouds” or “parched, scorched, and washed away”?: Barack Obama’s use of contrasting metaphors and stories in framing climate change

This paper examines President Barack Obama’s use of contrasting metaphors and metaphorical stories to frame the issue of climate change and the associated political controversies in a major policy speech at Georgetown University in 2013. One major theme in the speech contrasted a series of metaphors based on violence and destruction with a series of metaphors based on peace, tranquility, and health, all within an overall framing story about the Apollo 8 astronauts and the picture they took of the Earth from lunar orbit. Another major theme is the contrast between metaphors of passivity or obstruction and metaphors of movement and dynamic activity. Within these two sets of thematic contrasts are more subtle contrasts between metaphors associated with the effects of climate change and metaphors associated with ameliorative actions to counteract climate change. All of these themes are presented in a way that fails to acknowledge — and implicitly discredits — possible alternative frames. This, plus the obstruction / movement contrast, effectively aggravates the frame conflicts that have stymied fruitful discussion of these issues throughout the Obama administration. We close the analysis with some specific recommendations for increasing the potential for empathetic understanding through explicit awareness of the framing effects of language.
Flashlamp Pumped Nd:BaY2F8

Nd:BaY2F8 has been successfully grown and operated under flashlamp pumping conditions at both 1.0488 and 1.3176 μm. Nd:BaY2F8 is an interesting laser material because of its long upper laser level lifetime, 456 μsec, and its birefringent nature. Because of the short length of the available laser rod, an uncommon pulse forming network was employed. Under this experimental configuration, Nd:BaY2F8 displayed a higher slope efficiency than a Nd:YAG laser rod with the same diameter.
Deep Venous Thrombosis, Inflammatory Bowel Disease, and Protein S Deficiency

The authors observed a patient with severe inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) complicated by ten episodes of deep venous thrombosis (DVT). Her unusual thrombotic tendency prompted further investigation for primary hypercoagulability. A nonfamilial deficiency of Protein S was documented suggesting the deficiency was acquired. This occurrence suggests that low Protein S levels should be considered as a potential etiologic factor in patients with IBD and recurrent DVT.
On the Differential Equation f'(x)=af(g(x))

(1968). On the Differential Equation f'(x)=af(g(x)) Mathematics Magazine: Vol. 41, No. 5, pp. 260-262.
Hydroxylapatite Augmentation Evaluation Using Computergraphic Analysis of Pre- and Postaugmentation Casts

Analysis of pre- and postoperative casts is essential in evaluating the efficacy of hydroxylapatite implant procedures for denture support. Computergraphics have been used to quantitate the changes in anatomic contour of occlusal surfaces of teeth and in the diagnosis and treatment of patients with craniofacial malformations. They may prove to be a useful adjunct in the planning and execution of preprosthetic oral and maxillofacial surgery for ridge augmentation. Thus computergraphics may be useful in surveying pre- and postaugmentation casts and evaluating clinical outcomes. In addition, computergraphics may also be useful in evaluating the utility of various surgical techniques used to augment ridges. In this study, pre- and postsurgical maxillary and mandibular casts were made from tissue displacing, irreversible hydrocolloid impressions. A comparison of pre- and postsurgical ridge contours, surface areas and volumes were derived from computer digitized two-dimensional tracing of casts sectioned in the frontal plane. This was accomplished using a three-dimensional computergraphics program that reconstructed digitized two-dimensional images into a three-dimensional image which displayed ridge contours, surface areas and volumes. The application of computergraphic technology may also prove useful in quantitating and mapping time-dependent morphological changes in ridges supporting the prostheses. Thus this technique may be useful in monitoring resorption patterns in underlying bone as well as in the revision and compaction of implanted materials.
Toxic reactions and side effects of glucocorticoids in man

The toxic reactions and side effects of glucocorticoids in humans are discussed. The effects reviewed include metabolic (muscle and skin, carbohydrates and lipids), cardiovascular, cellular, immunologic, skeletal and growth, gastrointestinal, nervous system, ocular, and hypothalmic-pituitary-adrenal.
What is the true role of surgery in the infertility associated with endometriosis

Antecedentes: desde la primera publicacion acerca de la endometriosis hace mas de 150 anos por von Rokitansky se genero una gran incertidumbre en relacion con los diversos aspectos clinicos, moleculares y sociales de la enfermedad, situacion que la convirtio en uno de los padecimientos mas desafiantes para los ginecologos. Los principales problemas han sido: el dolor pelvico, la dismenorrea y la infertilidad, sobre todo por su dificil diagnostico, ademas de que las estrategias de tratamiento son hasta cierto punto limitadas. Se ha publicado una gran cantidad de articulos relacionados con las dificultades de la mujer con deseo reproductivo y sus opciones de tratamiento. Objetivo: revisar la evidencia cientifica actual y lograr el convencimiento de los medicos de primer contacto que tratan pacientes con infertilidad asociada con endometriosis del abordaje menos invasivo, y que la cirugia es, incluso, potencialmente perjudicial en muchos de los casos
Prominent Young Physician, 1927–34

Alfred Xuma must have felt like a virtual stranger to South Africa when he finally returned home at the end of 1927. A great deal had changed during his 14 year absence overseas. What limited rights Africans had enjoyed when Xuma left had begun to erode as successive governments moved to protect white minority interests. But as the volume of segregationist legislation increased between 1913 and 1927, Africans explored new avenues of protest and resistance.
Neoliberalism in the City: The 2014-2016 Oromo Protests against the Addis Ababa Integrated Regional Development Plan

In 2014, the Ethiopian government announced the controversial Addis Ababa Integrated Regional Development Plan (AAIRDP) which aimed to expand the boundaries of the capital city into Oromo farmlands. The Ethiopian government temporarily shelved the plan due to the Oromo student protests that ensued. However, starting in late 2015, the government expressed renewed interest in moving forward with the AAIRDP which ignited massive countrywide protests from all segments of the Oromo society. The Ethiopian government killed hundreds of student protesters and detained thousands of others in attempts to quell dissent. The 2014-2016 Oromo protests express widespread and longstanding Oromo dissatisfaction with ethnic discrimination, economic inequality, and the lack of basic democratic freedoms in the country. This paper seeks to place 2014-2016 Oromo protests within a broader historical and global context. First, it surveys the Oromo protest movements of 1960s and 1970s. Next, it discusses the role Oromo diaspora actors played in criticizing ethnic discrimination and disenfranchisement in Ethiopia during the Derg period. Finally, it examines the ways in which precarity, land grabs, and the use of social media by protesters and their supporters have influenced the nature and expression of protest in Ethiopia today.
Application of CD8+ Cells Count as a Guide of Immunosuppressive Regimen Introduction for Very Sick Patients Undergoing Liver Transplantation.

Abstract Background Immunosuppression (IS) protocols should be individualized according to the individual recipient's immunity to minimize adverse effects. The aim of this study was to determine whether preoperative levels of CD8+ T lymphocytes could be used as a guide for the introduction of IS. Methods Sixteen adult liver transplantations in our institute were retrospectively analyzed. The immunosuppressive agents were temporarily withheld for 8 patients with a lower ( Results The postoperative IS-free period of group A was 5 to 120 days (median, 31 days). Our data showed an inverse correlation between CD8+ levels and the severity of liver disease. Although the IS-free protocol did not present a lower incidence of infection-related events, most of them were effectively treated with antibiotics. The 1-, 3-, and 5-year overall patient survival rates were not different between those with a short-term IS-free period and those with regular IS (87.5% vs 100%, 75% vs 100%, and 62.5% vs 87.5%; P = .468). No patient died of graft failure due to acute rejection. Conclusions Postoperative immunosuppressive agents can be safely withheld for a period of time to preserve proper immune responses against infections in very sick recipients guided by using the CD8+ levels.
Is Protoplasm Ever Fluid

The viscosity of the hyaline (granule-free) cytoplasm of the immature egg of Spisula (Lamellibranchia) was determined by use of the Einstein equation for Brownian movement. The value obtained was 4.3 centipoises. Thus this protoplasm has a viscosity similar to that of a concentrated protein solution. The viscosity of the entire cytoplasm, granules and all, is much higher. This is due to the great concentration of granular material. Study of the movement of the large germinal vesicle through the cytoplasm under the influence of different centrifugal forces indicates that the viscosity of the entire cytoplasm, granules and all, does not decrease as the shearing force increases. Hence, apparently, the entire cytoplasm behaves like a true Newtonian fluid--at any rate there is no evidence of thixotropy. The idea that protoplasm is typically a gel is not in accord with the evidence presented here. Additional evidence for the fluidity of protoplasm is provided by earlier information about the osmotic behaviour of cells, the formation of ice crystals in protoplasm, the rapid dispersion of aqueous solutions injected into cells, the outflow of protoplasm from cells broken in calcium-free media, and by magnetic studies.
Exploring Ligand-Binding Kinetics in the S2 Site of MhsT by Atomistic Simulations and Markov Models

Neurotransmitter:Sodium Symporters (NSS) terminate neurotransmission through sodium-driven reuptake of cognate neurotransmitters, and traverse between outward-open and inward-open states. NSS include serotonin and dopamine transporters, which are targets for antidepressants and abused psychostimulants. Crystallographically, whereas both substrates and inhibitors have been found to bind the central binding site (denoted S1) of the NSS proteins, it has been shown that inhibitors for LeuT and SERT can also bind to a binding cavity in the extracellular vestibule (denoted S2). Based on computational and experimental studies in LeuT, it has been found that substrates can bind to S2 as well, and such binding triggers the intracellular release the substrate and Na+ from S1. However, whether such a role of S2 substrate is common for other NSS remains unclear.The newly available crystal structure of MhsT, a bacterial NSS homolog, which was solved in an inward-occluded state, provides a more suitable starting point to study the substrate induced conformational changes, including the S2 substrate induced transition from inward-occluded to inward-open state transition. Here, we use extensive molecular dynamics simulations combined with hidden Markov model (HMM) analysis to investigate the feasibility and kinetics of the substrate L-tryptophan binding to S2 of MhsT. Based on HMM analysis, we identified transition binding positions in the extracellular vestibule that form potential substrate binding pathways, and the conformational changes near the S2 site associated with the two most populated bound states. Our findings shed light on the S2 substrate binding kinetics and the induced conformational changes, which may be critical in triggering the subsequent events in the transport mechanism.
Diagnosis of lung tumor types based on metabolomic profiles in lymph node aspirates.

Abstract Background Treatment of lung cancer is evolving from the use of cytotoxic drugs to drugs that interrupt pathways specific to a malignancy. The field of metabolomics has promise with respect to identification of tumor-specific processes and therapeutic targets, but to date has yielded inconsistent data in patients with lung cancer. Lymph nodes are often aspirated in the process of evaluating lung cancer, as malignant cells in lymph nodes are used for diagnosis and staging. We hypothesized that fluids from lymph node aspirates contains tumor-specific metabolites and are a suitable source for defining the metabolomic phenotype of lung cancers. Patients and materials Metabolic profiles were generated from nodal aspirates of ten patients with adenocarcinoma, ten with squamous cell carcinoma, and ten with non-malignant conditions using time-of-flight mass spectrometry. In addition, concentrations of selected metabolites participating in the kynurenine and glutathione pathways were measured in a second set of aspirates using tandem mass spectrometry. Results A list of consensus features that separated these three groups was identified. Two of the consensus features were tentatively identified as kynurenine and as oxidized glutathione. It was shown that metabolite concentrations in these pathways are different for patients with and without malignancy. Conclusion Together the data suggest that metabolomic analysis of lymph node aspirates can identify tumor-specific differences in cancer metabolism and reveal novel therapeutic targets. This proof-of-concept study demonstrates the validity to complement and refine diagnosis of lung cancer based on metabolic signature in lymph node aspirates. Micro abstract Treatment of lung cancer is evolving from the use of cytotoxic drugs to drugs that interrupt metabolic pathways specific to a malignancy. We report here in that the metabolic phenotype of lung cancer can be determined in lymph node aspirates harboring malignant tumor cells. Knowledge about metabolic activity of malignant tumor cells may aide to personalize therapy.
Mitochondrial dysfunction in the APP/PSEN1 mouse model of Alzheimer’s disease and a novel protective role for ascorbate

Mitochondrial dysfunction is elevated in very early stages of Alzheimer's disease and exacerbates oxidative stress, which contributes to disease pathology. Mitochondria were isolated from 4-month-old wild-type mice, transgenic mice carrying the APPSWE and PSEN1dE9 mutations, mice with decreased brain and mitochondrial ascorbate (vitamin C) via heterozygous knockout of the sodium dependent vitamin C transporter (SVCT2+/-) and transgenic APP/PSEN1 mice with heterozygous SVCT2 expression. Mitochondrial isolates from SVCT2+/- mice were observed to consume less oxygen using high-resolution respirometry, and also exhibited decreased mitochondrial membrane potential compared to wild type isolates. Conversely, isolates from young (4 months) APP/PSEN1 mice consumed more oxygen, and exhibited an increase in mitochondrial membrane potential, but had a significantly lower ATP/ADP ratio compared to wild type isolates. Greater levels of reactive oxygen species were also produced in mitochondria isolated from both APP/PSEN1 and SVCT2+/- mice compared to wild type isolates. Acute administration of ascorbate to mitochondria isolated from wild-type mice increased oxygen consumption compared with untreated mitochondria suggesting ascorbate may support energy production. This study suggests that both presence of amyloid and ascorbate deficiency can contribute to mitochondrial dysfunction, even at an early, prodromal stage of Alzheimer's disease, although occurring via different pathways. Ascorbate may, therefore, provide a useful preventative strategy against neurodegenerative disease, particularly in populations most at risk for Alzheimer's disease in which stores are often depleted through mitochondrial dysfunction and elevated oxidative stress.
Canadian Inuit, digital Qanuqtuurunnarniq, and emerging geographic imaginations

Abstract Using the Canadian Arctic as a case study this paper explores how Internet-based research can be used to advance area studies in an era of rapid global change. Regions of the world are rapidly changing due to social, technological, and environmental processes, and traditionally marginalized groups are increasingly using digital tools to help shape new geographical imaginations of these regions. Digital research is uniquely capable of analyzing these political uses of digital technologies, to produce a better understanding of how many different stakeholders are shaping emerging geographical imaginations. The Canadian Arctic offers a particularly powerful case study to understand these processes both because it represents a geographic region that is complex, multi-scalar, and rapidly evolving, and also because it is a region in which traditionally marginalized indigenous groups are using the Internet to increase the visibility of their perspectives. This paper develops an innovative methodology, combining computational analysis of ‘big data’ along with traditional forms of qualitative analysis, to analyze representations of the Arctic across the websites of five different organizations. These organizational websites were chosen because each of the organizations has a different relationship to the Arctic, operates at a different geographic scale, has some relevance to areas of the Canadian Arctic in which Inuit live, and has a large website. The analysis successfully reveals how these different organizations use the web to shape different types of geographic imaginations of the Arctic, as well as the types of discursive politics being used by the organizations to push forward their own political goals. The result is a powerful form of area studies capable of highlighting the geographic imaginations and re-imaginations of a complex set of actors operating at many different scales.
Effect of Muscle Soft Tissue on Biomechanics of Lumbar Spine under Whole Body Vibration

The object of this study was to simulate effect of muscle soft tissue on resonant frequencies and configuration (deformation and displacement) of lumbar spine in vivo under whole-body vibration (WBV). The three-dimensional (3D) finite element (FE) models of human body including skin, muscle soft tissue, viscera, ligaments, lumbar intervertebral disc (LID) and skeleton were created and validated. Modal analysis was performed by FE method. Results were that muscle soft tissue increased the resonant frequencies of lumbar spine. The first vertical resonant frequency (FVRF) changed greatly with the variation of Young’s modulus of muscle soft tissue in range of 0.01 MPa-0.15 MPa. Muscle soft tissue reduced the modal displacement of the lumbar spine. Especially the modal displacement in the anteroposterior direction was reduced by at least 40%. The risk injury area of lumbar was at low lumbar region under vertical WBV. The conclusions were that muscle soft tissue played a very important role in biomechanics of lumbar spine, and we could contract muscles of whole body for protection of lumbar spine under WBV with high vibration amplitude. The findings could be helpful in understanding the biomechanics of lumbar spine under WBV and offer potential references for spinal disease protection and orthopedics.
Prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal risk factors of autism spectrum disorder.

We explored the association of 29 previously reported neonatal, perinatal, and prenatal conditions, and exposures with later diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in a large sample of children followed over multiple years. A retrospective case–cohort study was formed using the Military Health System database. Cases were identified by International Classification of Diseases, Ninth Revision codes for ASD between 2000 and 2013, and were matched 3:1 with controls on sex, date of birth, and enrollment time frame. Exposures included 29 conditions previously associated with ASD; 17 prenatal conditions and their pharmaceutical treatment, 5 perinatal conditions, and 6 neonatal conditions. A total of 8,760 children diagnosed with ASD between the ages of 2 and 18 years were matched with 26,280 controls. ASD is associated with maternal mental illness, epilepsy, obesity, hypertension, diabetes, polycystic ovary syndrome, infection, asthma, assisted fertility, hyperemesis, younger maternal age, labor complications, low birth weight, infant infection, epilepsy, birth asphyxia, and newborn complications. The greatest increased risk was associated with infant epilepsy (odds ratio (OR) 7.57 (5.68–10.07)), maternal mental health (OR 1.80 (1.65–1.96)), and epilepsy (OR 1.60 (1.02–2.50)) medications. ASD is associated with a range of prenatal, perinatal, and neonatal factors, with the highest magnitude associations with maternal medication use and neonatal seizure.
Palliative Care Use Among Patients With Solid Cancer Tumors: A National Cancer Data Base Study.

Background:Palliative care has been increasingly recognized as an important part of cancer care but remains underutilized in patients with solid cancers. There is a current gap in knowledge regardi...
University students’ graph interpretation and comprehension abilities

An executive report to the President of the United States titled Engaging to Excel: Producing One Million Additional College Graduates with Degrees in Science, predicted that over the next ...
Ship patrol: multiagent patrol under complex environmental conditions

In the problem of multiagent patrol, a team of agents is required to repeatedly visit a target area in order to monitor possible changes in state. The growing popularity of this problem comes mainly from its immediate applicability to a wide variety of domains. In this paper we concentrate on frequency-based patrol, in which the agents' goal is to optimize a frequency criterion, namely, minimizing the time between visits to a set of interest points. In situations with varying environmental conditions, the influence of changes in the conditions on the cost of travel may be immense. For example, in marine environments, the travel time of ships depends on parameters such as wind, water currents, and waves. Such environments raise the need to consider a new multiagent patrol strategy which divides the given area into regions in which more than one agent is active, for improving frequency. We prove that in general graphs this problem is intractable, therefore we focus on simplified (yet realistic) cyclic graphs with possible inner edges. Although the problem remains generally intractable in such graphs, we provide a heuristic algorithm that is shown to significantly improve point-visit frequency compared to other patrol strategies.
Ethical Issues in Research with Children and Adolescents with Disruptive Behavior Disorders

Converging evidence suggests that all of the major mental illnesses affecting adults also afflict children (Institute of Medicine, 1989) but research on child and adolescent mental disorders has generally lagged far behind studies of adult mental illnesses. These research gaps continue to exist for a variety of reasons, including difficulties recruiting child and adolescent subjects into research studies; wariness of the pharmaceutical industry about potential liability if wide-scale child-based pharmaceutical research were supported; lack of agreement among the lay public, professions, and various research disciplines about the appropriateness of classification and diagnoses in children and adolescents; insufficient research funding; and the special ethical challenges in conducting research with children and adolescents. These factors have together combined to limit research in this population, with the result that children have been described as “therapeutic orphans,” less likely than adults to reap the benefits of new knowledge on the safety and efficacy of various treatment alternatives.
Convergence Analysis of Krylov Subspace Spectral Methods for Reaction–Diffusion Equations

Krylov subspace spectral (KSS) methods are explicit time-stepping methods for partial differential equations that are designed to extend the advantages of Fourier spectral methods, when applied to constant-coefficient problems, to the variable-coefficient case. This paper presents a convergence analysis of a first-order KSS method applied to a system of coupled equations for modeling first-order photobleaching kinetics. The analysis confirms what has been observed in numerical experiments—that the method is unconditionally stable and achieves spectral accuracy in space. Further analysis shows that this unconditional stability is not limited to the case in which the leading coefficient is constant.
Sanal-Cell Cycle and Primo Vascular System: Regeneration via Sanals.

The Primo Vascular System (PVS) is new to most scientists despite that it was discovered in the 1960s by Bonghan Kim. Out of the many physiological functions reported, one of the most important PVS functions appears to be its role in the regeneration via a small (~1 μm) subcellular body called ‘sanal.’ According to Kim, a cell generates multiple sanals and the sanals arriving at the primo nodes (PNs) via primo vessels (PV) eventually produce new cells, by way of the ‘Sanal-Cell Cycle.’ Sanals express stem cell biomarkers. Appropriately differentiated sanals have been shown to perform non-marrow hematopoiesis and repair damaged tissues. However, many questions on sanals still remain: e.g., how sanals reside in the PN; whether sanals are a new type of stem cells; and how exactly sanals produce cells and/or tissue. Our preliminary studies show that sanals reside inside the sinus formed by sub-PVs in the PNs; and in the PNs, there are more than one form of sanal-originated bodies of various sizes.
To revascularize or not before transcatheter aortic valve implantation

Concomitant coronary artery disease (CAD) and aortic stenosis occur in approximately 60-75% of patients referred for surgical or transcatheter aortic valve replacement (TAVR). Current guidelines support simultaneous surgical aortic valve replacement and bypass surgery with a class IIa recommendation, based on observational, non-randomized data. With the inception of TAVR, this strategy has been challenged, as observational studies have not shown significant outcome differences in patients with and without CAD treated with TAVR. Performing percutaneous coronary intervention (PCI) in patients with aortic stenosis is safe, but the indication and timing remain controversial. Complete revascularization before TAVR with low residual Syntax score (<8) may be considered in selected cases with extensive, proximal, and severe CAD to improve outcomes. PCI before TAVR may require less contrast and reduce the risk of acute kidney injury, but uninterrupted dual antiplatelet therapy may increase the risk of bleeding during TAVR. Combined PCI and TAVR can be considered for unstable patients with simple lesions or ostial lesions, with risk of coronary occlusion after deployment of the transcatheter heart valve. PCI after TAVR may be considered in patients who remain symptomatic with significant residual ischemia despite optimal medical therapy. In the near future, it is expected that randomized clinical trials will further clarify the indications and role of revascularization in patients undergoing TAVR. In this article we provide an extensive review on the management of CAD in TAVR candidates, including additional considerations on technical aspects, device selection, and adjunctive pharmacological therapies.
Effective Permittivity and Scattering of Bicontinuous Random Medium with Strong Permittivity Fluctuation Theory

We apply the analytical fully coherent model to bicontinuous media for applications in microwave remote sensing of snow cover. In our model, snow is represented by bicontinuous media which is generated by a Gaussian random process. The statistical moments and correlation functions of bicontinuous media can be calculated. With the correlation functions, we apply the strong permittivity fluctuation (SPF) theory to derive the analytical solutions for calculation of scattering properties and effective permittivity of bicontinuous meida. The SPF theory is under the bilocal approximation. Effective permittivity and extinction coefficient from the analytical solutions are compared with those of the numerical solution of Maxwell's equation in 3D (NMM3D). The real part of effective permittivity of SPF is also compared with solutions of Maxwell-Garnett formula.
Quantification of sucralose in groundwater well drinking water by silylation derivatization and gas chromatography-mass spectrometry

Sucralose is an increasingly popular artificial sweetener and has been found in the environment in groundwater, surface water, and wastewater treatment plant effluent. Its chemical properties make it strongly recalcitrant in the environment and it has been used as a conservative tracer of human wastewater in recent years. Most current methods of sucralose analysis use high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry (HPLC-MS/MS) instrumentation. In this study, we describe an analytical method using silylation derivatization and gas chromatography mass spectrometry (GC-MS) for the quantification of sucralose in groundwater samples. This method employs a deuterium-labeled internal standard to account for reaction and sample processing imprecision. The deuterated internal standard as well as experiments using negative ion chemical ionization gas chromatography-mass spectrometry strongly indicate that sucralose is derivatized at all five hydroxyl positions with trimethyl silyl groups. A previously developed GC-MS method with derivatization of sucralose in environmental samples did not employ an internal standard for quantification. As such, this method represents a more robust methodological approach for sucralose quantification in environmental samples. The method detection limit based on a set of 15 method blanks was calculated to be 21.8 ng L−1, which is competitive with most methods in the published literature and sufficient to detect sucralose in water with ∼0.1% wastewater contribution. The method was applied to 37 groundwater samples from drinking water wells in California's Central Valley, in which five samples (13.5%) were found to contain sucralose at concentrations greater than the 21.8 ng L−1 detection limit.
LISTENING AS ACTION: THE ORDINARY PEOPLE AND PLACES OF STORYCORPS

StoryCorps is a nonprofit organization aimed to empower the voices and stories of ‘ordinary’ Americans. Founded by radio producer David Isay in 2003, StoryCorps collaborates with National Public Ra...
Deadly Impasse: Indo-Pakistani Relations at the Dawn of a New Century

What ails the Indo-Pakistani relationship? Rivalry between the two states has persisted since the partition of the British Indian Empire in 1947, and despite negotiations, four wars and multiple crises, India and Pakistan remain locked in a long-standing dispute. Evaluating relations from 1999 through to 2009, Sumit Ganguly seeks to understand this troubled relationship and why efforts at peace-making and conflict resolution, which have included unilateral Indian concessions, have not been more fruitful. Charting key sources of tension throughout the decade, including the origins and outcomes of the Kargil War in 1999, developments in the Indian-controlled portion of the state of Kashmir, the attack on the Indian parliament in December 2001 and the onset of the 2001–2 crisis, Deadly Impasse sets out to discover whether the roots of this hostile relationship stem from security dilemmas or reflect the dynamics between a status quo power and a predatory state.
Design of a Semipowered Stance-Control Swing-Assist Transfemoral Prosthesis

This article describes the design of a new type of knee prosthesis called a stance-control swing-assist (SCSA) knee prosthesis. The device is motivated by the recognition that energetically passive stance-controlled microprocessor-controlled knees (SCMPKs) offer many desirable characteristics, such as quiet operation, low weight, high-impedance stance support, and an inertially driven swing-phase motion. Due to the latter, however, SCMPKs are also highly susceptible to swing-phase perturbations, which can increase the likelihood of falling. The SCSA prosthesis supplements the behavior of an SCMPK with a small motor that maintains the low output impedance of the SCMPK swing state, while adding a supplemental closed-loop controller around it. This article elaborates upon the motivation for the SCSA prosthesis, describes the design of a prosthesis prototype, and provides human-subject testing data that demonstrate potential device benefits relative to an SCMPK during both nonperturbed and perturbed walking.
Merit Ptah, “The First Woman Physician”: Crafting of a Feminist History with an Ancient Egyptian Setting

Merit Ptah is widely described as "the first woman physician and scientist" on the Internet and in popular history books. This essay explores the origins of this figure, showing that Merit Ptah came into being in the 1930s when Kate Campbell Hurd-Mead misinterpreted a report about an authentic ancient Egyptian healer. Merit Ptah gradually became a prominent figure in popular historical accounts during second-wave of feminism, and, in the twenty-first century she appeared in Wikipedia and subsequently spread throughout the Internet as a female (sometimes black African) founding figure. The history of Merit Ptah reveals powerful mechanisms of knowledge creation in the network of amateur historians, independently from the scholarly community. The case of Merit Ptah also pinpoints factors enabling the spread of erroneous historical accounts: the absence of professional audience, the development of echo chambers due to an obscured chain of knowledge transmission, the wide reach of the Internet, the coherence with existing preconceptions, the emotional charge of heritage, and even - in the case of ancient Egypt - the tendency to perceive certain pasts through a legendary lens. At the same time, the story of Merit Ptah reveals how important role models have been for women entering science and medicine.