cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Blood Pressure Responses to Different Arm Positions During Vertical Head Down Ankle Suspension

This study compares the effects of different arm positions on blood pressure during vertical head-down ankle suspension. Eighteen healthy volunteers (10 men and 8 women, aged 20-30 years) were placed first in the upright sitting position for 4 min, and second in the head-down suspension position for 4 min. In the latter position, the arms were first alongside the head and then raised alongside the body at the end of the 4th min. Blood pressure was measured non-invasively during the last 30 s of the 4th min of upright sitting and head-down suspension with the arms alongside the head, and then immediately following the movement of the arms alongside the body. In relation to the upright sitting position, head-down suspension with the arms dangling alongside the head resulted in a significant increase in brachial artery blood pressure (121/78 mm Hg vs. 146/91 mm Hg, respectively). This finding may be explained on the basis of a variable hydrostatic component. Following the immediate movement of the arms to alongside the body while still suspended, there was a significant decrease in blood pressure to 124/79 mm Hg. No significant change in blood pressure occurred from upright sitting to full head-down suspension with the arms alongside the body (121/78 mm Hg vs. 124/79 mm Hg, respectively). Based on previous disparate reports of pressure during head-down suspension, the findings of the present study indicate a need to standardize the method of blood pressure measurement during this procedure.
Complete Atrioventricular Septal Defect: Evolution of Results in a Single Center During 50 Years

Background Operative mortality after complete atrioventricular septal defect (cAVSD) repair has improved vastly. Less improvement has been demonstrated regarding late mortality and reoperation rates, however. There is evident lack of comprehensive population-based studies analyzing the history and progress of the ever-changing operative results. Methods This is a 5-million population-based retrospective study of consecutive 388 cAVSD patients operated in Finland between 1962 and 2014. Data were collected using Children's Cardiac Surgical Registry of Children's Hospital at the Helsinki University Hospital, Finland. Mortality data and reoperation rates were analyzed on a decade-by-decade basis. Results During the early era, overall mortality was 17.4%, operative mortality constituting 10.9%. The operative results have improved significantly over the decades, and eventually, the last decade showed no mortality. A total of 23 late deaths occurred; of these, 20 were directly heart-related. Half of the late mortality occurred during the first postoperative year. The only significant risk factor for overall mortality was an earlier decade of operation (p Conclusions There has been an outstanding improvement in surgical results through the years even though the general operative approach has remained the same. Rates of reoperation have not been declining, but the reoperations are dated to early childhood years. The improvement in results has been ongoing.
Homes for the Poor? Public Housing and the Social Construction of Space in Baghdad, 1945-1964:

Public housing in Iraq has been unduly subsumed into narratives of a declining monarchy propped up by oil wealth and international expertise at the onset of the Cold War. According to this narrativ...
Kyphoplasty and Vertebroplasty

Vertebral body compression fractures are ubiquitous and a source of severe pain for many patients. Conservative treatment including bracing and physical therapy is effective for most patients. However patients with a non-healing vertebral body fracture and significant pain lasting >6 weeks but <1 year and with point tenderness corresponding to the location of vertebral body fracture can potentially have some benefit from vertebroplasty (cement augmentation into the fracture space) or kyphoplasty (balloon dilation typically followed by cement augmentation). Prospective randomized studies have demonstrated some improvement in pain; whereas, sham studies have demonstrated no benefit. Overall, with good patient selection vertebroplasty and kyphoplasty can be a beneficial tool to help patients with pain due to compression fractures, spinal metastasis, or multiple myeloma.
Pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System is Equivalent to Scoliosis Research Society-22 in Assessing Health Status in Adolescent Idiopathic Scoliosis.

STUDY DESIGN This was a correlational study. OBJECTIVE Determine the range of pediatric Patient-Reported Outcomes Measurement Information System (PROMIS) scores for patients treated for adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS) and assess correlation with Scoliosis Research Society-22 (SRS-22) domain scores. SUMMARY OF BACKGROUND DATA Patient reported outcome (PRO) measures are important metrics for measuring health status in diverse patient populations. PROMIS is increasingly being used in orthopedic practice. Existing literature compares PROMIS measures favorably to legacy measures in numerous adult orthopedic conditions. This study sought to define the range of PROMIS mobility, pain interference, and peer relationships scores for adolescents treated for AIS. Furthermore, correlations between these domains and equivalent domains in the legacy PRO, SRS-22, were determined. METHODS Pediatric PROMIS and SRS-22 were obtained at routine clinical visits for AIS at a tertiary care children's hospital from January 2017 to October 2017. Spearman correlations were performed to examine the associations between three pediatric PROMIS domains and the SRS-22 domains. Only patients who completed both PRO measures were included in the analyses. Radiographic measurements were performed at each visit assessing sagittal and coronal deformity and overall spinal balance. RESULTS One hundred thirteen patients with a mean age of 14.4 (standard deviation [SD] = 2.1) years completed the assessments. The mean pediatric PROMIS domain scores included: mobility 50.9 (interquartile range [IQR] 36.2-65.6); pain interference 45.9 (IQR 28.9-62.9); peer relations 52.6 (IQR 38.3-64.9).PROMIS mobility was strongly correlated with SRS-22 function (r = 0.65; P < 0.001). PROMIS pain interference was strongly correlated with SRS-22 pain (r = 0.70; P < 0.001). PROMIS peer relations was moderately correlated with SRS-22 Mental Health (r = 0.41; P < 0.001) and self-image (r = 0.34; P < 0.001). CONCLUSION In AIS patients pediatric PROMIS pain interference and mobility correlate strongly with SRS-22 pain and function domains, while PROMIS peer relationships demonstrates moderate correlations with SRS-22 mental health and self-image. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 2.
Technology assessment and the doctor-patient relationship.

Professor Elhauge's main thesis is that technology assessment is unlikely to slow the cost explosion in health care. Ideally, technology assessment would identify unnecessary, ineffective, or excessively expensive methods for treating or evaluating illness, or for delivering health care. But, according to Professor Elhauge, technology assessment does not prove useful in altering the patterns of consumption of medical care or in reducing inefficiencies. Significant savings cannot be achieved over the long run by wringing "waste" from the system, and neither elimination of medically useless therapies nor the development of more efficient methods of treatment or delivery of care will reduce the inexorable cost escalation that has been a feature of our medical care system for decades. Rather, significant control of health care costs will require moving beyond a quest for mere efficiency-the achievement of the most benefit for the least cost-to medical rationing, which entails trading off real health care benefits.2 According to Professor Elhauge, the route to cost savings through
Activities from African Calendar and Time Customs.

CONNECTIONS STANDARD OF THE CURRICUlum and Evaluation Standards for School Mathematics (NCTM 1989) encourages looking for mathematics in a much wider range of applications and cultures than in the past'Teachers interested in applying this standard through a multicultural curriculum have found examples from various cultures around the world, including those of Africa. Zaslavsky, in Africa шшщщ ■■■ ■ ■ Counts (1979), presents an All шшщщ Children ООП! Oil extensive look at African Mnnrlai/C hni#£t ilia mathematics and continifiuiitiays nave ine ues t0 ^е on Ше subject same day-name (1989> 1991) other authors, notably Gerdes (1988), have also contributed; Ascher (1991) and Krause (1983) mention African examples along with others from around the world. These sources are recommended to teachers seeking to use African examples in their classrooms.
Supplemental feeding solutions do not improve honey bee (Hymenoptera: Apidae) foraging on cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon)

Most cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) growers rent honey bees (Apis spp.) to insure proper pollination of their crop. However, honey bees are not the most efficient pollinators of cranberry and th...
Finding a Niche and Developing an Undergraduate Data Analytics Course

In this research to practice work in progress paper, the authors report their experience in developing a data analytics course for an undergraduate information technology program. Data analytics, as an emerging field, is increasingly making an impact in the engineering domain and reshaping many other traditional disciplines. To create a data analytics course that is both instructionally sound and effective, the authors anchored their course development on the theories of learner-centered design and problem-based learning to ensure that the course revolves around student needs and interests, and the skills they’ve learned are transferable. The backward design model was incorporated as a framework to guide the development process to ensure the integrity of the course and that all learning outcomes are measured accordingly. Principles of universal design for learning were also being considered and applied during the development process so students can receive an optimum learning experience. Finally, the developed course will be peer-reviewed using a rubric set forth by the college to ensure the overall quality before it is offered.
High-risk third trimester pregnancy with decompensated cirrhosis safely delivered following emergent preoperative interventional radiology for mitigation of variceal bleeding

Abstract Coagulopathy coupled with severe portal hypertension in the setting of cirrhosis increases the risk of mortality from variceal bleeding in pregnant women. Studies suggest transjugular intrahepatic portosystemic shunt (TIPS) creation to be a safe procedure during pregnancy in preventing variceal bleeding complications; however, it is not typically employed in severely decompensated cirrhosis. This case report of a pregnant woman presenting at 34.7 weeks' gestation demonstrates successful variceal mapping, emergent TIPS creation and variceal embolization to allow safe cesarean delivery despite severe hypofibrinogenemia and decompensated alcoholic cirrhosis. With careful medical optimization, angiographic imaging and vascular interventional radiology may be employed outside of usual indications to achieve safe pregnancy delivery and postpartum recovery.
Modulating Thermal Load Through Lightweight Residential Building Walls Using Thermal Energy Storage and Controlled Precooling Strategy

Abstract Precooling is a recognized technique for reducing cooling energy in buildings during peak hours by shifting load to off-peak hours. This technique is particularly effective in buildings with high thermal mass, because of their large thermal energy storage capacity, and in commercial buildings due to their variable electricity pricing based on time-of-use rates. Precooling in residential buildings has been a matter of limited interest in the past because of their low thermal mass and typically uniform electricity pricing rate. While previous studies on precooling primarily focused on cost savings, an important aspect of precooling is the thermal load modulation, which could be very effective in managing peak demand in lightweight residential buildings integrated with thermal energy storage systems. In this study, we examine different precooling strategies to manage the heat gains in lightweight building walls integrated with phase-change materials. We create nine different precooling profiles by controlling the interior temperature, and then evaluate the influence of the precooling profiles on four key building energy performance parameters: total heat gain, peak heat gain, maximum heat gain during peak hours, and time at which peak occurs. To thoroughly understand the fundamental physics, we first consider hypothetical climates and obtain the optimal precooling strategy required to achieve maximum peak shedding and shifting while minimizing the total heat gains. We then extend the model to Baltimore, Maryland, and estimate the benefits of the optimized precooling strategy under real conditions. The optimal precooling strategy proposed in this study can shift the peak heat gain by up to 14 h, thereby reducing the heat gain during peak period by up to 95%, at the expense of 23% increase in the total heat gains.
Gene Fusions in Ocular Adnexal Tumors.

Purpose To highlight the increasing importance of gene fusions in the diagnosis, prognosis, and therapy of ocular adnexal tumors. Design Perspective. Methods A focused review of gene fusions, their pathogenic mechanism, and gene fusion detection methods in lacrimal gland and primary orbital and ocular adnexal soft tissue tumors; reappraisal of diagnostic, prognostic, and therapeutic approach to ocular adnexal tumors in light of emerging molecular genetic data. Results The widespread implementation of fluorescence in situ hybridization and next-generation sequencing methods in pathology practice has led to identification of recurrent gene rearrangements and fusions in a variety of tumors. As a result, molecular genetic methods have become the gold standard for diagnosis of tumors with overlapping histology and immunophenotype, such as small round blue cell tumors. Identification of canonic gene fusions has led to development of sensitive and specific immunohistochemical markers, such as STAT6 in solitary fibrous tumor. In addition to diagnostic accuracy, gene fusions have prognostic implications, such as unfavorable prognosis of PAX3-FOXO1 fusion in alveolar rhabdomyosarcoma. Finally, recognition of gene fusions as a driving mechanism in neoplasia has led to development of U.S. Food and Drug Administration–approved targeted therapies, such as TRK inhibitors for NTRK fusion-positive cancers. Conclusion The discovery of recurrent gene fusions in various tumors, including those involving ocular adnexa, has led to a deeper insight into the molecular mechanisms of these neoplasms, revolutionizing our approach to their diagnosis, prognostication, and therapy.
Heterogeneous III-V Photodiodes on Silicon Nitride and Silicon

The talk reviews progress on high-speed InGaAs/InP photodiodes on silicon-based photonic platforms. Recent results from heterogeneously integrated photodiodes based on adhesive die bonding and direct III-V material growth on Si will be discussed.
Lowered progesterone metabolite excretion and a variable LH excretion pattern are associated with vasomotor symptoms but not negative mood in the early perimenopausal transition: Study of Women's Health Across the Nation

Abstract Objective The menopausal transition is characterized by progressive changes in ovarian function and increasing circulating levels of gonadotropins, with some women having irregular menstrual cycles well before their final menstrual period. These observations indicate a progressive breakdown of the hypothalamic-pituitary-ovarian axis often associated with an increase in menopausal symptoms. Relationships between vasomotor symptoms (VMS) and depressed mood and sleep as well as a bidirectional association between VMS and depressed mood in mid-life women have been reported, but the endocrine foundations and hormone profiles associated with these symptoms have not been well described. Our objective was to determine the relationship between daily urinary hormone profiles and daily logs of affect and VMS during the early perimenopausal transition. Study Design SWAN, the Study of Women’s Health Across the Nation, is a large, mutli-ethnic, multisite cohort study of 3302 women aged 42–52 at baseline, designed to examine predictors of health and disease in women as they traversed the menopause. Inclusion criteria were: an intact uterus and at least one ovary present, at least one menstrual period in the previous three months, no use of sex steroid hormones in the previous three months, and not pregnant or lactating. A subset (n = 849) of women aged 43–53 years from all study sites in the first Daily Hormone Study collection were evaluated for this substudy. Outcome Measures We measured daily VMS, and urinary hormones: follicle stimulating hormone (FSH), luteinizing hormone (LH), pregnanediol glucuronide (PdG) and estradiol (estrone conjugate, E1C). Results A variable pattern of LH and negative LH feedback were the hormone patterns most strongly associated with increased VMS. In contrast, no hormone pattern was significantly related to negative mood. Conclusion Fluctuations of LH associated with low progesterone production were associated with VMS but not negative mood, suggesting different endocrine patterns may be related to increased negative mood than to the occurrence of VMS.
An in-situ real-time hidden damage inspection on C-17 Globemaster III composite aileron using LSP technique under thermal excitation

A non-contact, full-field vision-based non-destructive inspection (V-NDI) system was developed with multiple damages detection capabilities in composite structures under thermal excitation. In contrast to point-based nondestructive inspection (P-NDI) systems employing laser Doppler vibrometer (LDV) with discrete wavefield captured by pointwise scanning, the V-NDI system captures higher spatial resolution wavefield by a CMOS camera for every time instance without repeating the experiment tens of thousand times to reassemble the wavefield like P-NDI. An Advanced Damage Processing Network (ADPNet) was proposed with laser speckle photometry (LSP) employed in a V-NDI system for hidden damages inspection. The LSP/ADPNet system relies on observing the variation of speckle clouds in time sequence without a baseline and is very insensitive to ambient noise with statistics-based image processing where traditional holography/ESPI suffers greatly. Other advances of LSP/ADPNet system are its robust tolerance of laser coherence, larger illumination area, flexible choice of correlation functions, and more advanced post-processing techniques such as Bayesian updating/inference or unsupervised image segmentation that can be readily applied. Thermal excitation can have very large power throughput in hundreds of watts compared to traditional PZT actuator, merely in a few watt ranges. Laser speckle itself is the result of self-interference scatter field reflected from a rough surface, and each speckle can be treated as a sensing point from a randomly distributed speckle cloud. By observing the variation of speckle cloud on the structure surface, displacement related quantities in higher dimensions (e.g. hypercomplex envelope, phase between real-valued signal and its quadrature, phase congruency, etc.) can be deduced by the Riesz bp transform and correlated in time sequence to highlight the location of hidden damages in a very effective way. Another novelty of this paper is to make a super compact real-time LSP system on LabVIEW FPGA by applying ADPNet comprised of the Riesz bp transform, non-linear filter bank and unsupervised image segmentation to quantify/characterize barely visible impact damages (BVID) on a C-17 Globemaster III composite aileron. To conclude, the images processed by LSP/ADPNet of a V-NDI system show a very good agreement with ultrasonic C-scan and pulse laser/LDV wavefield reconstruction results. It is also demonstrated to be more accurate and robust than Digital Image Correlation (DIC) for minute deformation (sub-nano to nano meter) measurement and large area (meter by meter) inspection under industrial environment.
VNS therapy vs. discontinuation of VNS therapy: Long-term seizure outcome (P5.5-028)

Objective: Compare long-term seizure (sz) control in patients (pts) with continued vagal nerve stimulation (VNS) with those who discontinued VNS. Background: Long term VNS follow-up (f/u) studies show progressive improvement but are limited by lack of comparison groups. This study compared long-term sz control in pts who continued VNS stimulation (“VNS-on”) to those who underwent VNS then discontinued treatment (“VNS-off”). Question: Do pts with long-term VNS have greater sz reduction than those who discontinue VNS? Design/Methods: Refractory epilepsy pts with VNS therapy for ≥3 yrs (and f/u ≥2 yrs after VNS discontinuation for VNS-off) with clear baseline (pre-VNS) and last f/u sz frequencies were included. Pts with brain surgery Results: 49 pts included: 33 VNS-on, 16 VNS-off. VNS-on pts had treatment for 116.6 ± 43 months. VNS-off pts had VNS treatment for 78 ± 37 months, discontinued treatment, then had 95.63 ± 38 months additional follow-up. 50% responder rates between groups (VNS-on: 54.5%; VNS-off: 50%, p=NS) were similar. However, VNS-on pts had significant reduction in sz frequency at last f/u compared with baseline (−12.7 sz/month± 34.1, p = 0.04) compared with VNS-off pts both right before VNS was discontinued (−2.8 sz/month ± 18.5, p = 0.55) and last f/u (−4.4 sz/month ± 14.7, p = 0.25), though effect size was small (0.28). Conclusions: Pts with long-term VNS therapy and those who discontinued therapy had similar long-term 50% responder rates. However, pts with long-term VNS treatment may experience greater magnitude of sz reduction. Pts with poor VNS response may be more refractory. Larger confirmatory studies are needed. Disclosure: Dr. Gill has nothing to disclose. Dr. Yuan has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Supernus. Dr. Sperling has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Medtronic. Dr. Sperling has received research support from Eisai, Medtronic, Neurelis, Pfizer, SK Life Science, Takeda, Sunovion, UCB Pharma and Upsher-Smith. Dr. Mintzer has received personal compensation for consulting, serving on a scientific advisory board, speaking, or other activities with Eisai, UCB, Abbvie,Greenwich Laboratories. Dr. Mintzer has received research support from UCB. Dr. Skidmore has received research support from Neuropace. Dr. Nei has nothing to disclose.
Political Action Committee Donations to Incumbent Senators; a Corruption Motive

This paper utilizes six-year Senate terms and two-year reporting periods to analyze if Political Action Committees are using their donations to influence the actions of sitting Senators as opposed to simply trying to get those with favorable policy views re-elected. Senators that are early in their careers who will have more influence in the long-term as well as Senators who currently already have influence would be those more likely to be targeted by Political Action Committees for this motive. Using clustered OLS regression with fixed effects and interaction terms, I find that there is in fact a "corruption" motive when it comes to Political Action Committees donating to sitting US Senators.
Study on Exploring Family Multi-Type Maltreatment, Social Support, and Externalizing and Internalizing Problems among Asian and Asian American College Students

Exposure to family violence as a child has a detrimental long-term impact on one’s life. This relationship is under-researched in Asian populations in the United States or in Asian countries. The objectives of this research are to examine long-term effects of maltreatment, including interparental violence and child maltreatment on externalizing and internalizing problems experienced by Asian and Asian American college students and explore protective effects of social support against the negative consequences of family maltreatment. Surveying 542 college students in Hong Kong, South Korea, Japan, and the United States, we measured effects of family maltreatment on problem outcomes and examined the role of social support. Exposure to dual harm of family maltreatment (i.e., intraparental violence and child maltreatment) increased students’ externalizing problems compared to exposure to one type of family maltreatment, but no differences in internalizing behaviors were found. Effects of social support from parents and peers on externalizing and internalizing problems were neither moderating nor mediating, but direct. Those who received parental support had fewer externalizing behaviors, but effects of peer support were not significant. In contrast, those who obtained parental and peer support showed lower levels of internalizing mental health concerns. Surprisingly, men exhibited more mental health issues than women. Exposure to dual harm increases behavioral problems, but family support can help repair damage among Asian and Asian American college students. The relationship between abuse and problem outcomes was similar across countries, indicating common psychological processes.
An Adversarial Model of Network Disruption: Maximizing Disagreement and Polarization in Social Networks

The spread of misinformation has increased markedly in recent years, a phenomenon which has been accelerated and amplified by social media such as Facebook and Twitter. While some actors spread misinformation to push a specific agenda, others aim to simply disrupt the network by increasing disagreement and polarization, thereby destabilizing society. Popular social networks are also vulnerable to large-scale attacks. Motivated by this reality, we introduce a simple model of network disruption to capture this phenomenon, where an adversary can take over a limited number of user profiles in a social network with the aim of maximizing disagreement and/or polarization. We investigate this model both theoretically and empirically. We show that the adversary will always change the opinion of a taken-over profile to an extreme in order to maximize disruption. We also prove that an adversary can increase disagreement/polarization at most linearly in the number of user profiles it takes over. Furthermore, we present a detailed empirical study of several natural algorithms for the adversary on both synthetic networks and real world (Reddit and Twitter) data sets. These show that even simple, unsophisticated heuristics, such as targeting centrists, can disrupt a network effectively, causing a large increase in disagreement/polarization.
A Tale of Two Cities and Trade Policies: Brexit No Deal Scenario and Trade Tariff Hikes

Suggestions regarding impacts of increased and increasing possibilities of a No Deal Brexit Scenario point towards possible consequential effects on interest rate levels – to the extent of decreasing such levels to near zero levels. Brexit has not only impacted the value (exchange rate) of the pound tremendously, but also import prices. In a similar vein, current ongoing trade wars between major economies are likely to affect domestic producers particularly where produced goods are assembled (partly or to a greater extent) abroad in jurisdictions which are affected by the imposition of trade tariff hikes. It is not only likely that prices will increase but that eventual price increases will be passed onto domestic consumers – thus further raising inflation levels. Amidst ongoing uncertainty, such developments have impacted stock markets – with global reverberations and repercussions. Whilst oil import prices are also impacted by different factors such as the value of the dollar, over supply or possible cuts in production, it is not always the case that oversupply or over production automatically implies or necessarily translates into lower prices. As recently reported by the Wall Street Journal (WSJ, Aug 2019), which highlighted that “growth in oil supply is forecast to accelerate in 2020 – in a global wave of production”, it was also emphasized that this would restrict crude prices in a bear market territory – with “possible lower fuel prices” for consumers. The effects of lower interest rates on the central bank’s inflation targeting policies – as well as consumer expectations is also a subject of contentious debates. Whilst lower interest rates are needed to stimulate economic activity – even where it appears that reasons for doing so are not immediately apparent, there are also concerns that such actions may impact consumer expectations by delaying spending in the hopes of lower rates or even worse, trigger fears and concerns amongst investors. The recent decision by the Federal Reserve to reduce federal funds rate by a quarter point amidst dissenting opinions – as well as justifications that this was attributed to “boiling” trade issues which were now regarded as “simmering” not only accentuates concerns about impending ongoing trade tensions, but also reflected possible impacts on global financial markets particularly given the context and basis of the decision. What effects will near zero level interest rates have on inflation targeting policies in the months to come? Why should investors be unduly concerned that ongoing trade wars may generate greater uncertainty than anticipated? Even though chances of a No Deal Brexit Scenario have significantly increased in recent weeks, the Bank of England left interest rate levels unchanged recently (August 2019) – in stark contrast to near zero level expectations – even though it had been widely anticipated (prior to the announcement) that interest rates would remain unchanged. It will be interesting to see how such contrasting developments are justified in the months ahead.
Host Response to Naturally Derived Biomaterials

Naturally derived materials differ from their synthetic counterparts in that they possess an inherently bioactive ligand landscape. Thus, the host response to naturally derived materials is potentially more complex than to synthetic materials. The host response to naturally derived materials has recently been identified as critical to successful outcomes in preclinical and clinical applications. The host response will vary based both upon the source of the base material and the methods used to process it into its final form. Decellularized tissue-based biomaterials have been successfully used in millions of patients to date for a variety of clinical applications. The purpose of the present chapter is to review the factors which dictate the host response to these materials and to define the characteristics of the host response which lead to the constructive outcomes. The concepts presented herein are easily applied to other types of naturally derived biomaterials.
Working with Faculty: Some Reflections

Abstract The “Dean” of library instruction reflects on the nuances of faculty attitudes on collaborating with academic librarians. Based on over 30 years of successful integration of information literacy into the coursework at Earlham College in Richmond, Indiana, the author presents a vivid portrait of the faculty-librarian relationship.
Adsorption of rationally designed “surf-tides” to a liquid-crystal interface

The interfacial adsorption of proteins in surfactant laden systems occurs both in nature and industrial processing, yet much of the fundamental behavior behind these systems is still not well understood. We report the development of a system that monitors optical transitions of a liquid-crystalline/aqueous interface to examine the dynamics of adsorption of two rationally designed model peptide molecules. The two molecules synthesized in this study were both designed to become surface-active upon folding and contain the same net charge of +3, but one of the peptides, K-2.5, has its three charges separated by 2.5 amino acids as compared to K-6.0, which has its three charges separated by 6 amino acids. Our study examines the roles that surfactant adsorption, peptide charge distribution and secondary structure have on the relative adsorption dynamics of these two models peptides onto a fluid/fluid interface. Using the optical detection of molecular adsorption and image analysis of these events, we obtain quantitative information about the dynamics as a function of the charge spacing and initial peptide concentration. We show that both peptides initially follow a diffusion-limited adsorption model onto the interface. Additionally, our results suggest that the K-6.0 peptides demonstrate enhanced adsorption kinetics, where the enhanced rates are a consequence of the well-folded adsorbed state and spatial distribution on the surface. These findings provide further insights into the role that charge spacing has on secondary structure and subsequently the dynamics of adsorption, while developing a versatile system capable of extracting quantitative information from a simple inexpensive optical system.
GATA-3 and the regulation of the mammary luminal cell fate

The GATA family of transcription factors plays essential roles in the specification and maintenance of differentiated cell types. GATA-3 was identified in a microarray screen of the mouse mammary gland as the most highly expressed transcription factor in the mammary epithelium and is expressed exclusively in the luminal epithelial cell population. Targeted deletion of GATA-3 in mammary glands leads to profound defects in mammary development and inability to specify and maintain the luminal cell fate in the adult mouse. In breast cancer, GATA-3 has emerged as a strong predictor of tumor differentiation, estrogen-receptor status, and clinical outcome. GATA-3 maintains tumor differentiation and suppresses tumor dissemination in a mouse model of breast cancer. This review explores our current understanding of GATA-3 signaling in luminal cell differentiation, both in mammary development and breast cancer.
Romantic c/China: The Literature of Chinoiserie

As the popularity of Chinese-style textiles, lacquers, and especially porcelain increased in Britain in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, chinoiserie objects inevitably found their way into literature. Porcelain, or ‘china’ begins to be troped as the reified sign of its geographical and cultural referent, ‘China’. In Romantic writings about porcelain, writers render porcelain as a legible object with a story to be told, or even make the object itself speak, so that c/China teapots and dishes seemed less and less like mass-produced things and more and more like auratic works of art that had the power of mediating relations between British consumers and Chinese producers. In the chinoiserie poems of Joanna Baillie and Thomas Hood, we can witness the literary development of a unique version of commodity fetishism that invests great cultural and historical significance in the imagined lives of objects.
Pathophysiology of Parkinsonism

The motor signs of Parkinson's disease are thought to result in large part from a reduction of the level of dopamine in the basal ganglia. Over the last few years, many of the functional and anatomical consequences of dopamine loss in these structures have been identified, both in the basal ganglia and in related areas in thalamus and cortex. This knowledge has contributed significantly to our understanding of the link between the degeneration of dopamine neurons in the midbrain and the development of parkinsonism. This review discusses the evidence that implicates electrophysiologic changes (including altered discharge rates, increased incidence of burst firing, interneuronal synchrony, oscillatory activity, and altered sensorimotor processing) in basal ganglia, thalamus, and cortex, in parkinsonism. From these studies, parkinsonism emerges as a complex network disorder, in which abnormal activity in groups of neurons in the basal ganglia strongly affects the excitability, oscillatory activity, synchrony and sensory responses of areas of the cerebral cortex that are involved in the planning and execution of movement, as well as in executive, limbic or sensory functions. Detailed knowledge of these changes will help us to develop more effective and specific symptomatic treatments for patients with Parkinson's disease.
Unsteady fluid dynamic model for propeller induced flow fields

A potential flow based three-dimensional panel method was modified to treat time dependent flow conditions in which the body's geometry may vary with time. The main objective of this effort was the study of a flow field due to a propeller rotating relative to a nonrotating body which is otherwise moving at a constant forward speed. Calculated surface pressure, thrust and torque coefficient data for a four-bladed marine propeller/body compared favorably with previously published experimental results.
The shape of a superfluid vortex nucleated at a sharp edge

Experiments on superfluid flow through pinholes suggest that inhomogeneous nucleation of distorted vortex half-rings at the orifice lip may account for the onset of dissipation in such flows. This paper gives a calculation of the shape of the critical vortex—one whose local self-induced velocity matches the local flow velocity. The length and energy correction for a typical geometry amounts to more than 30%.
A microiontophoretic study of morphine on single neurons in the rat globus pallidus.

Abstract The microiontophoretic application of morphine to single globus pallidus neurons in morphine naive rats resulted in a depression of both spontaneous and glutamate-evoked firing of these neurons. Seventy percent of all pallidal neurons on which morphine was tested exhibited some degree of depression of neuronal discharge; no excitatory effect was observed to morphine on any pallidal neurons. The depressant effects of morphine, but not those of dopamine, could be antagonized by the microiontophoretic application of the morphine antagonist naloxone, indicating that the morphine-induced depression of pallidal neuronal activity was a specific morphine action. This effect of morphine is most likely mediated by the opiate receptors on pallidal neurons that have been proposed to function in enkephalinergic-mediated synaptic transmission.
Making Models Count

What sort of claims do scientific models make and how do these claims then underwrite empirical successes such as explanations and reliable policy interventions? In this paper I propose answers to these questions for the class of models used throughout the social and biological sciences, namely idealized deductive ones with a causal interpretation. I argue that the two main existing accounts misrepresent how these models are actually used, and propose a new account.
An analysis of methods for calculating constant terminal-settling velocities of spheres in liquids

Methods for calculating constant terminal-settling velocities (vs)of spheres are examined for their validity and limitations of usefulness. A different approach is given which accurately predicts vsfor spheres over a wide range of hydraulic conditions based on past experimental work. The theory behind this approach is given along with the listing of afortranprogram which directs the calculations of vs.The practical limits of the author's method are stated, and tables of vsmay be generated from the program for common mineral densities over a range of sizes useful to sedimentologists.
Cytotoxicity and secretion of gamma interferon are carried out by distinct CD8 T cells during Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection.

The host immune response is generally sufficient to contain Mycobacterium tuberculosis infection. It does not, however, efficiently prevent subsequent infection with M. tuberculosis or provide sterilizing immunity. While the understanding of the immune response generated against this pathogen is incomplete, improvements have been achieved due to advances in immunological tools. In this study, we analyzed the multifunctional nature of primary and memory CD8 T-cell responses generated during murine M. tuberculosis infection. We generated a recombinant M. tuberculosis strain expressing ovalbumin (OVA) epitopes in order to expand the peptides for the detection of CD8 T cells during M. tuberculosis infection and enable us to use OVA-specific reagents. Our results indicate that the majority of M. tuberculosis-specific CD8 T cells are limited to either cytotoxicity or the secretion of gamma interferon (IFN-gamma), with cytotoxicity being far more prevalent than IFN-gamma secretion. Memory CD8 T cells responded earlier and reached higher levels in the lungs than naive CD8 T cells, as was expected. They were, however, less cytotoxic and secreted less IFN-gamma than newly primed CD8 T cells, suggesting that one factor contributing to bacterial persistence and lack of sterilizing immunity may be the low quality of memory cells that are generated.
Collaboration, Enforcement, and Endangered Species: A Framework for Assessing Collaborative Problem-Solving Capacity

ABSTRACT The centrality of collaborative capacity to long-term problem-solving success in natural resource policy poses a critical challenge for social scientists. While the literature on antecedent capacity is relatively rich, there is virtually nothing in the literature related to collaborative capacity as an outcome—the idea of a collaborative capacity assessment framework. What criteria help us understand whether long-term, collaborative problem-solving capacity is enhanced, stays the same, or is diminished? Our framework develops capacity outcomes along multiple dimensions—the vertical, the horizontal, and the partnership linkages between the two—and is applied to collaborations involving endangered species. When the cases are measured along traditional vertical measures there is little difference; both register high rates of compliance. However, when assessed along all three dimensions of the framework, a stark contrast in long-term problem-solving capacity is evident. The Walla Walla case evinces h...
Effect of dietary supplemental vitamin A concentration on performance, carcass merit, serum metabolites, and lipogenic enzyme activity in yearling beef steers.

A randomized complete block design experiment with 360 single-source black yearling steers (average BW = 316.1 +/- 9.1 kg) fed a 91% concentrate (steam-flaked corn base) diet was conducted to evaluate the effects of supplemental vitamin A (0, 1,103, 2,205, 4,410, or 8,820 IU/kg of dietary DM) on plasma and liver vitamin A and E concentrations, lipogenic enzyme activity, marbling score, and performance of yearling steers. Final BW (586, 580, 590, 585, and 584 kg for 0, 1,103, 2,205, 4,410, and 8,820 IU of supplemental vitamin A/kg of DM, respectively) did not differ (P = 0.39) among treatments. Feed efficiency, ADG, and daily DMI did not differ (P > 0.10) among treatments within each 28-d period or for the overall experiment. From d 57 to slaughter, average DMI (10.33, 10.28, 10.57, 9.75, and 10.22 kg/steer daily for 0, 1,103, 2,205, 4,410, and 8,820 IU of vitamin A/kg of DM, respectively) was less (P 0.10) among treatments. Similarly, the percentage of carcasses grading >or=USDA Choice (62.6, 52.8, 64.0, 58.4, and 58.4% for 0, 1,103, 2,205, 4,410, and 8,820 IU of vitamin A/kg of DM, respectively), Select, or 0.10) among treatments. Except for d 56 (P = 0.050; r = 0.18 for liver retinol), no correlations (P > 0.10) between marbling score and any plasma or liver tissue retinol or alpha-tocopherol concentrations or vitamin A intake were found, and no differences (P > 0.10) in lipogenic enzyme activity were detected among treatments. Taken together with previous and concurrent research, results of this experiment suggest that vitamin A supplementation at a concentration up to twice the NRC recommendation has little effect on performance, marbling, or lipogenic enzyme activity in adipose tissue samples in yearling feedlot steers, and that 2,205 IU of supplemental vitamin A/kg of DM (20,000 IU/steer daily) or less is adequate to meet the vitamin A requirements of finishing beef cattle.
Evidence-based management of childhood fever: what pediatric nurses need to know.

Misconceptions and unfounded fears regarding childhood fever exist among parents and pediatric providers despite the evidence that fevers are not harmful in CHILDHOOD FEVER IS a common occurrence and often a grave concern to parents. Misconceptions and unfounded fears regarding fever exist among parents and pediatric providers alike, despite the evidence that fevers are not harmful in most circumstances. In addition, fear of fever can lead to aggressive and dangerous practices, including overdosing with antipyretics and sponge bathing with alcohol. There is a need for pediatric nurses to understand the physiology of the febrile response as well as common misconceptions regarding fever in order to promote safe and evidence based fever management for their young patients. most circumstances.
Biochemical consequences of phosphorylcholines low pK with special relevance to human semen: Passive pH regulation

Abstract 1. 1. The significant difference in pK between phosphorylcholine (PCh) and inorganic phosphate (P i ) of over 1 pH unit results in PCh being a source of acid buffering potential and an actual sink for protons when it is hydrolyzed. Phosphorylethanolamine (PEth) can fill the same role. 2. 2. Both semen and tissues having substantial anaerobic metabolism among which are those of fetal origin can face circumstances of non-pathological acidosis. 3. 3. We demonstrate from the literature that all of those tissues with the two understandable exceptions of erythrocytes and striated muscle, have high levels of PEth and/or PCh. 4. 4. Since these phosphomonoesters can serve as lipid metabolites as well as low-pK fixed-phosphate buffer it appears they can serve a dual function in these tissues. 5. 5. Their concentration would vary depending on the physiological and biochemical conditions present and we would call this a “Swiss army knife” theory of metabolite function.
A quick field test for evaluating phosphorus movement in sandy soils

Abstract Assessing the risk of phosphorus (P) leaching in sandy soils requires a valid and practical indicator of the depth to which applied P has moved in soil. This paper describes a rapid field test for soil P called the Phosphorus Quick Test (PQT) that is based on the phosphomolybdate blue procedure. One gram samples of soil taken from known depths within a soil profile were saturated with 0.10 M HCl on a porcelain spot plate and a few drops of the solution were treated with phosphomolybdate reagent to form a blue colour. The depth to which P has moved into the soil can be determined visually after only a few minutes. A comparison of the PQT results with soil (Mehlich‐1 P) and water‐soluble P tests showed that the PQT could accurately determine the depth of P movement in sandy soils. Results of the PQT at a field site that had received a single, heavy application of dairy lagoon effluent showed that considerable downward movement of P occurred in some areas of the field as a result of the effluent app...