cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Intended Versus Inferred Care After PET Performed for Initial Staging in the National Oncologic PET Registry

The National Oncologic PET Registry (NOPR) collected data on intended management before and after PET in cancer patients. We have previously reported that PET was associated with a change in intended management of about one third of patients and was consistent across cancer types. It is uncertain if intended management plans reflect the actual care these patients received. One approach to assess actual care received is using administrative claims to categorize the type and timing of clinical services. Methods: NOPR data from 2006 to 2008 were linked to Medicare claims for consenting patients aged 65 y or older undergoing initial-staging PET scanning for bladder, ovarian, pancreatic, small cell lung, or stomach cancers. We determined the 60-d agreement between claims-inferred care and NOPR treatment plans. Results: Patients (n = 4,661) were assessed, and 30%–52% had metastatic disease. Planned treatments were about two-thirds monotherapy, of which 46% was systemic therapy only, and one-third combinations. Claims paid by 60 d confirmed the NOPR plan of any systemic therapy, radiotherapy, or surgery in 79.3%, 64.7%, and 63.6%, respectively. Single-mode plans were much more often confirmed: systemic therapy in more than 85% of patients with ovarian, pancreatic, and small cell lung cancers and surgery in more than 73% of those with bladder, pancreatic, and stomach cancers. Intended combination treatments had claims for both in only 28% of patients receiving surgery-based combinations and in 55% receiving chemoradiotherapy. About 90% of patients with NOPR-planned systemic therapy had evaluation or management claims from a medical oncologist. An age of less than 75 y was associated more often with confirmation of chemotherapy, less often for radiotherapy but not with confirmation of surgery. Performance status or comorbidity did not explain confirmation rates within action categories, but confirmation rates were higher if the referrer specialized in the planned treatment. Conclusion: Claims confirmations of NOPR intent for initial staging were widely variable but were higher than previously reported for restaging PET, suggesting that measuring change in intended management is a reasonable method for assessing the impact diagnostic tests have on actual care.
Measuring cytotoxicity: a new perspective on LC50.

Background: Cytotoxicity in cell culture is typically expressed as LC50, the concentration of a given agent which is lethal to 50% of the cells. This number is dependent on the incubation time with the agent. Previously, a two-term exponential model has been proposed to describe cell growth after a cytotoxic event: y(t) = k1 * exp(-d1*t) + k2 * exp(d2*t). A dose-response relationship was observed between the parameter k2 in this formula and the concentration of the cytotoxic agent etoposide, in high-grade glioma cells was independent of incubation time. Materials and Methods: In order to test if the model can be applied more generally, DAOY medulloblastoma cells treated with MS275, a histone deacetylase inhibitor, were used. Results: The observed data fit the model well. Conclusion: The concentration at which k2 is reduced by 50% is called KC50. It provides a far better description of the cytotoxicity of an agent in a specific cell line than the traditional LC50.
Optimal design of 1-3 composite piezoelectrics

An optimal design problem for piezoelectric composite hydrophones is considered. The hydrophone consists of parallel piezoelectric rods embedded in a poroustransversely isotropic polymer matrix. We find the shape, volume fraction, and spatial arrangement of the piezoceramic rods, and the structure of the matrix material that maximizes the hydrophone performance characteristics. We found that the optimal composite consists of a hexagonal array of rods with small volume fraction, in a highly anisotropic matrix that is characterized by negative Poisson's ratios in certain directions. The performance characteristics of hydrophones with such a matrix are significantly higher than those with anisotropic polymer matrix. The results can be viewed as theoretical upper bounds on the hydrophone performance.
Prejudice and Its Intellectual Effect in American Anthropology: An Ethnographic Report1

This article deals with some deep forms of prejudice in American anthropology in terms of its dominant ideas and its products. The foundation of this prejudice seems to be Western individualism. It expresses itself by excluding contrary ideas from its public forums (publications, symposia, and so forth) and by elaborating and escalating ideas in conformity with it. In spite of its cross-cultural protestations, American anthropology will become White American anthropology unless our fraternity consciously takes a more open-minded approach to other competing assumptions—rooted in other cultures—about man and what makes him run. There is a world of difference between a truly cross-cultural science of man and a White centered science of man with cross-cultural decorations
Assimilation and Contrast in a Test of the Hostile Media Effect

Recent empirical research has vividly demonstrated the hostile media effect—the tendency for individuals highly involved in a controversial issue to see media coverage of that issue as hostile to their own point of view. This type of contrast bias—along with its assimilation counterpart—is hypothesized to stem from preexisting partisan attitudes coupled with other explanatory factors, including perceived reach of the message and characteristics of the source. To test these predictions, we recruited partisan respondents who were either Native American or sympathetic to native issues. Participants (N = 152) read information, varying in apparent circulation (low, medium and high reach) and source (friendly vs. not friendly) characteristics, on the issue of genetically modified wild rice, a controversial topic for native people in the upper Midwest. Variations in reach produced a linear trend in judgments of bias in the predicted direction. However, overall evaluations tended toward assimilation rather than c...
A Monte Carlo Particle Model Associated with Neural Networks for Tracking Problem

Sequential Monte Carlo (SMC) methods, namely, particle filters, are powerful simulation techniques for sampling sequentially from a complex probability distribution. SMC can be used to solve some problems associated with nonlinear non-Gaussian probability distribution. Sampling is a key step for these methods and has vital effects on simulation results. Various sampling strategies have been proposed to improve the simulation results of SMC methods, but degeneracy of particles sometimes is very severe so that there are only a few particles having significant weights. Diversity of particle samples is reduced significantly so that only a few particles are used to represent the corresponding probability distribution. This kind of sampling is not reasonable to approximate probability distribution. This paper addresses a new method which can avoid the phenomenon of particle degeneracy. We split particles with very big weights into two small ones and use the strategy of neural network to adjust positions of tail particles in order to increase their weights. Another advantage is that this method can efficiently make simulation results approach the actual object. Our simulation results of the typical tracking problem show that not only the phenomenon of particle degeneracy is effectively avoided but also tracking results are much better than those of the traditional particle filters. Compared with the move-resample method, our method shows better results under the same conditions.
Structural, Optical, and Magnetic Behavior of in-situ Doped, MOCVD-Grown Ga1-xMnxN Epilayers and Heterostructures

Dilute magnetic semiconductors (DMS) show promise as materials that can exhibit ferromagnetism at room temperature (RT). However, the nature of ferromagnetism in this material system must be well understood in order to allow intelligent design of RT spintronic devices. This work investigates the magnetic properties of the as-grown films and the effect of Mn incorporation on crystal integrity and device performance. Ga1-xMnxN films were grown by MOCVD on c-plane sapphire substrates with varying thickness and Mn concentration. Homogenous Mn incorporation throughout the films was verified with Secondary Ion Mass Spectroscopy (SIMS), and no macroscopic second phases (MnxNy) were detected using X-ray diffraction (XRD). Superior crystalline quality in the MOCVD-grown films relative to Mn-implanted GaN epilayers was confirmed via Raman spectroscopy. Vibrating sample magnetometry (VSM) measurements showed an apparent room temperature ferromagnetic hysteresis in the as-grown epiayers. Similarly, a marked decrease in the magnetization was observed with annealing and silicon doping, as well as in post-growth annealed Mg-codoped samples. The observed decrease in uB per Mn with increasing Mn concentration is explained by Raman spectroscopy results, which show a decrease in long-range lattice ordering and an increase in nitrogen vacancy concentration with increasing Mn concentration. Light emitting diodes (LEDs) containing a Mn-doped active region have also been produced. Devices were fabricated with different Mn-doped active layer thicknesses, and I-V characteristics show that the devices become more resistive as thickness of the Mn-doped active layer increases. The electroluminescence of the Mn-containing layers is red-orange vice blue. Under ultraviolet illumination, there is an increase in the measured VSM signal from Mn-containing layers.
Success of torsional correction surgery after failed surgeries for patellofemoral pain and instability

Torsional deformities of the femur and/or tibia often go unrecognized in adolescents and adults who present with anterior knee pain, and patellar maltracking or instability. While open and arthroscopic surgical techniques have evolved to address these problems, unrecognized torsion may compromise the outcomes of these procedures. We collected a group of 16 consecutive patients (23 knees), with mean age of 17, who had undergone knee surgery before torsion was recognized and subsequently treated by means of rotational osteotomy of the tibia and/or femur. By follow-up questionnaire, we sought to determine the role of rotational correction at mean 59-month follow-up. We reasoned that, by correcting torsional alignment, we might be able to optimize long-term outcomes and avert repeated knee surgery. Knee pain was significantly improved after torsional treatment (mean 8.6 pre-op vs. 3.3 post-op, p < 0.001), while 70 % of patients did have some continued knee pain postoperatively. Only 43 % of patients had continued patellar instability, and 57 % could trust their knee after surgery. Activity level remained the same or increased in 78 % of patients after torsional treatment. Excluding planned rod removal, subsequent knee surgery for continued anterior knee pain was undertaken on only 3 knees in 2 patients. We believe that malrotation of the lower limb not only raises the propensity for anterior knee symptoms, but is also a under-recognized etiology in the failure of surgeries for anterior knee pain and patellar instability. Addressing rotational abnormalities in the index surgery yields better clinical outcomes than osteotomies performed after other prior knee surgeries.
Practical analysis of framework-intensive applications

Many modern applications (e.g., web applications) are composed of a relatively small amount of application code that calls a large number of third-party libraries and frameworks. Such framework-intensive systems typically exhibit different characteristics from traditional applications. Current tools and techniques are often inadequate in analyzing applications of such scale and complexity. Approaches based on static analysis suffer problems of insufficient scalability and/or insufficient precision. Purely dynamic analyses, introduce too much execution overhead, especially for production systems, or are too limited in the information gathered. The main contribution of this thesis is a new analysis paradigm, blended analysis, combines elements of static and dynamic analyses in order to enable analyses of framework-intensive applications that achieve good precision at a practical cost. This is accomplished by narrowing the focus of a static analysis to a set of executions of interest identified using a lightweight dynamic analysis. We also present an optimization technique that further reduces the amount of code to be analyzed by removing infeasible basic blocks, and leads to significant increases in scalability and precision of the analysis. We contribute Elude, a publicly available framework for blended analysis of Java programs. We demonstrate the usefulness of blended analysis in practice by applying it to object churn, a common problem in framework-intensive applications caused by the excessive usage of temporary objects. We present a set of new metrics to characterize the usage and complexity of temporaries. We use an instantiation of the blended analysis paradigm, blended escape analysis, to compute these metrics for a set of real framework-intensive applications. Using these results we perform a detailed analysis of temporaries in these applications. We also use our technique to identify a set of problematic scenarios in a commercial application.
Post-conditioning for cardioprotection during reperfusion therapy: too good to be true?

The extent of myocardial salvage from reperfusion therapy in ST-segment elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI) may be limited by microvascular dysfunction and lethal reperfusion injury ([1,2][1]). Reperfusion injury is the phenomenon that describes myocardial and vascular damage occurring as a
How Do People Get Water Resources Research Information

A questionnaire was sent to water resource managers and research users to determine the methods most used and desired to learn of the results of water resources research. Analysis of the response indicates that technical journals are not viewed as the most desirable method of communication. Short courses, focused on specific topics and directed to users are quite highly desired. The respondents did not know of WRSIC. Much of the research sponsored by the Water Resources Research Centers is not considered to be useful.
Long-Term Care in North Carolina

Much of long-term care is not considered health care, as it is custodial, social, and supportive. But excellent long-term care is also preventive, timely, and accessible, and it provides space for long-term care recipients to find joy and meaning in their lives. This issue of the NCMJ provides abroad overview of long-term care, practical information about programs in our state, and tips for how to make use of these programs. Commentaries and sidebars in this issue also highlight new ideas, innovation, and transformation. This issue brief sets the stage by describing major events that have shaped the current framework of long-term care services and supports. It also discusses current trends that are influencing long-term care, including the emphasis on quality improvement methods, culture change, health care reform, the influence of geriatrics in primary care, and the desire for home-based care. Although we are not yet where we want to be in North Carolina, we are moving toward a long-term care system that will serve all North Carolinians well.
Exploiting nucleation and growth in the synthesis and electrical passivation of CdSe quantum dots

The synthesis of CdSe quantum dots (QDs) is usually achieved through reaction of the appropriate precursors in a solution containing weakly adsorbing capping ligands. Here we compare nucleation and growth of CdSe QDs synthesized in hexadecylamine and trioctylphosphine oxide with stearic acid, hexylphosphonic phosphonic acid, or tetradecylphosphonic acid. We show that the nature of the capping ligand dramatically influences nucleation and growth, and can be used to control QD diameter and hence optical properties. We also show how electrical passivation with either ZnS or (Cd, Zn)S influences the size and optical properties of the QDs.
A tentative approach based on unified asperity deformation model and effective compliance theory to explain the pressure-dependence of anisotropic velocity in sandstones

SUMMARY Seismic velocity variation with stress in fractured rocks can be explained as a consequence of fracture deformation, which results in changes in fracture compliance. Laboratory and field observations often show that the fractured rocks may contain preferentially aligned fractures distributed through the rock volume, and thus any model used to represent the pressuredependent seismic properties of such materials must take alignment into account to explain velocity anisotropy phenomena in these rocks. We apply a model that accomplishes this goal by combining expressions relating fracture compliance to effective rock properties with an asperity deformation model. The compliance model allows a straightforward combination of multiple fracture sets, and the asperity deformation model represents the stress-dependence of fracture compliances. Previous applications have considered only isotropic media, but here we consider anisotropic velocity variations in two sandstones that include both measurements of the directional variation of velocity and its stress dependence. We approximate the anisotropic velocity variation using a single set of aligned fractures, but the data measuring velocity change with pressure shows that this set alone will not correctly model the rock. Combining the aligned set of fractures with a set of randomly oriented fractures causing isotropic velocity variation does accurately fit the observed data.
Transport ofl-lactate by cultured rat brain astrocytes

Several reports indicate that lactate can serve as an energy substrate for the brain. The rate of oxidation of this substrate by cultured rat brain astrocytes was 3-fold higher than the rate with glucose, suggesting that lactate can serve as an energy source for these cells. Since transport into the astrocytes may play an important role in regulating nutrient use by individuals types of brain cells, we investigated the uptake ofl-[U-14C]lactate by primary cultures of rat brain astrocytes. Measurement of the net uptake suggested two carrier-mediated mechanisms and an Eadie-Hofstee type plot of the data supported this conclusion revealing 2 Km values of 0.49 and 11.38 mM and Vmax values of 16.55 and 173.84 nmol/min/mg protein, respectively. The rate of uptake was temperature dependent and was 3-fold higher at pH 6.2 than at 7.4, but was 50% less at pH 8.2. Although the lactate uptake carrier systems in astrocytes appeared to be labile when incubated in phosphate buffered saline for 20 minutes, the uptake process exhibited an accelerative exchange mechanism. In addition, lactate uptake was altered by several metabolic inhibitors and effectors. Potassium cyanide and α-cyano-4-hydroxycinnamate inhibited lactate uptake, but mersalyl had little or no effect. Phenylpyruvate, α-ketoisocaproate, and 3-hydroxybutyrate at 5 and 10 mM greatly attenuated the rate of lactate uptake. These results suggest that the availability of lactate as an energy source is regulated in part by a biphasic transport system in primary astrocytes.
Getting a Charge Out of Microporous Oxides: Building a Better Ultracapacitor

Microporous nickel oxides consisting of nano-sized particles have been utilized as active electrode materials for ultracapacitors. Both the physical adsorption of ions near the charged surface of these particles and surface oxidation/reduction reactions play a role in the capacitative charge storing mechanism. These are therefore appropriately referred to as pseudo-capacitors since they rely on mechanisms in addition to double layer charging in order to store energy. In this study, it has been shown that surface hydration contributes to the formation of an initial compound which participates in the electrochemical reactions of ultracapacitors. The specific capacitance of this material is ranging from 60 to 120 F/g depending upon the types of electrolyte solution used in the ultracapacitor.
On the Classification of the Hesperiidae

The Hesperioidea have always presented difficulties to anyone who attempts to arrange a system of classification for them. Their remarkable uniformity of structure leaves us with so little upon which to base sound distinctions that we often are forced to consider significant any trivial character that appears to be a fairly consistent criterion to characterize a group.
The Immature Stages of the Genera Ontholestes, Creophilus and Staphylinus Staphylinidae (Coleoptera)

The Genera herein considered contain the largest members of the Staphylinidae . The larvae are extremely large, heavily chitinized and usually dark brown in color. The head is well separated from the thorax; clypeo-labral margin dentate except at the close of the instar when the dentation becomes worn and obscure; legs of medium length, heavily armed; pseudopode long, cylindrical and used in locomotion; urogomphus usually more than twice as long as pseudopode, hair-like spines on the urogomphus are extremely long and usually are arranged in modified whorls.
Crystal structure of cindoxin, the P450cin redox partner.

The crystal structure of the flavin mononucleotide (FMN)-containing redox partner to P450cin, cindoxin (Cdx), has been determined to 1.3 A resolution. The overall structure is similar to that of the FMN domain of human cytochrome P450 reductase. A Brownian dynamics–molecular dynamics docking method was used to produce a model of Cdx with its redox partner, P450cin. This Cdx–P450cin model highlights the potential importance of Cdx Tyr96 in bridging the FMN and heme cofactors as well P450cin Arg102 and Arg346. Each of the single-site Ala mutants exhibits ∼10% of the wild-type activity, thus demonstrating the importance of these residues for binding and/or electron transfer. In the well-studied P450cam system, redox partner binding stabilizes the open low-spin conformation of P450cam and greatly decreases the stability of the oxy complex. In sharp contrast, Cdx does not shift P450cin to a low-spin state, although the stability of oxy-P450cin is decreased 10-fold in the presence of Cdx. This indicates that Cd...
Determination of Amygdalin in Maxing Cough Syrup by HPLC

A HPLC method for determination of amygdalin in Maxing cougy syrup by HPLC was established.Applied KromasilC18 column(250mm×4.6mm,5μm), the mobile phase was acetonitrile-0.1% phosphoric acid solution(8:92), the fl ow rate of 1.0mL ·min-1, the detecting wavelength was at 207nm. The linear range of amygdalin was 0.0406~0.8112μg(r=0.9999),the average recovery was 99.0%, RSD was 0.25%.The method was simple,accurate and reproducible,it could be used for quality control of maxing cough syrup.
New trends in insomnia management.

Pharmacological management of insomnia is continually evolving. The introduction of non-benzodiazepine benzodiazepine receptor agonist hypnotics provides an opportunity to understand different patterns of pharmacological activity with mechanistic differences in receptor activity. The impact of insomnia on daytime functioning and long-term health and socioeconomic status has been recognized. Epidemiological studies indicate that insomnia is associated with increased absenteeism and healthcare costs (although the latter appear to be partly attributable to comorbid depression). It will thus be important to determine whether hypnotics, in addition to their effects on sleep, provide other benefits for the patient that are related to these parameters. The successful resolution of this issue will require the adoption of additional outcome measures, such as effects on quality of life and healthcare costs. Recognition that long-term hypnotic use is widespread among insomniacs has prompted proposals for alternative prescribing patterns. Although certain hypnotics appear to be free of tolerance on prolonged use, caution is required in the long-term use of any hypnotic because of the lack of systematic data on chronic efficacy and safety. Therefore, alternative administration schedules (e.g. intermittent and 'as required') are being investigated. These may have very different consequences in terms of abuse liability and patients' perceptions of efficacy, and thus permit a more effective and appropriate use of this drug class.
Gene Silencing Using Small Interference RNA in Mast Cells

Small interfering RNA (siRNA) is a potent and specific method of inducing gene silencing through induction of RNA interference. siRNAs can be allowed for in vitro and in vivo applications. siRNAs have been successfully studied in vitro, but little is known about its efficacy in vivo. We have successfully applied the siRNA technique for silencing glucose transporter 3 in cultured L6 muscle cells. The siRNA technique has been used efficiently to silence RasGRP4 expression in mast cells.
The Impact of Study Abroad Experiences on Vocational Identity among College Students.

This article presents a study with the purpose to determine preliminary findings regarding the effect of a study abroad experience on vocational identity and career decision-making as defined by Cognitive Information Processing (CIP) theory (Sampson et al., 2004).
Modelling biodiesel–diesel spray combustion using multicomponent vaporization coupled with detailed fuel chemistry and soot models

A multicomponent vaporization model is integrated with detailed fuel chemistry and soot models for simulating biodiesel–diesel spray combustion. Biodiesel, a fuel mixture comprised of fatty-acid methyl esters, is an attractive alternative to diesel fuel for use in compression-ignition engines. Accurately modelling of the spray, vaporization, and combustion of the fuel mixture is critical to predicting engine performance using biodiesel. In this study, a discrete-component vaporization model was developed to simulate the vaporization of biodiesel drops. The model can predict differences in the vaporization rates of different fuel components. The model was validated by use of experimental data of the measured biodiesel drop size history and spray penetration data obtained from a constant-volume chamber. Gas phase chemical reactions were simulated using a detailed reaction mechanism that also includes PAH reactions leading to the production of soot precursors. A phenomenological multi-step soot model was uti...
Echolocation behavior in big brown bats is not impaired after intense broadband noise exposures.

Echolocating bats emit trains of intense ultrasonic biosonar pulses and listen to weaker echoes returning from objects in their environment. Identification and categorization of echoes are crucial for orientation and prey capture. Bats are social animals and often fly in groups in which they are exposed to their own emissions and to those from other bats, as well as to echoes from multiple surrounding objects. Sound pressure levels in these noisy conditions can exceed 110 dB, with no obvious deleterious effects on echolocation performance. Psychophysical experiments show that big brown bats ( Eptesicus fuscus ) do not experience temporary threshold shifts after exposure to intense broadband ultrasonic noise, but it is not known if they make fine-scale adjustments in their pulse emissions to compensate for any effects of the noise. We investigated whether big brown bats adapt the number, temporal patterning or relative amplitude of their emitted pulses while flying through an acoustically cluttered corridor after exposure to intense broadband noise (frequency range 10–100 kHz; sound exposure level 152 dB). Under these conditions, four bats made no significant changes in navigation errors or in pulse number, timing and amplitude 20 min, 24 h or 48 h after noise exposure. These data suggest that big brown bats remain able to perform difficult echolocation tasks after exposure to ecologically realistic levels of broadband noise.
Flexible Solid Sorbents for CO2 Capture and Separation

Abstract Flexible solid sorbents undergo structural transitions between phases of differing porosity during the adsorption and desorption of guests. Early work in the field involved mainly clays, but a recent resurgence has occurred with the discovery of flexible coordination polymers. Structurally dynamic behavior in these organic–inorganic hybrid materials can result from a wide range of mechanisms such as gating, breathing, and swelling. The complex thermodynamics involved lead to adsorption isotherms with pronounced steps and hysteretic desorption branches where the step pressures are temperature and guest specific. Their structured isotherms offer benefits for both postcombustion and precombustion CO 2 capture applications, including high adsorption selectivity and increased sorbent regeneration pressures. This chapter will give a brief overview of flexible coordination polymers in relation to CO 2 mitigation using selected examples from the scientific literature.
PROMs for Gouty Arthritis

Patient reported outcome measures (PROMs) are important tools to measure the patients’ perspective of the health problem. Over the years, various PROMs have been developed. This chapter gives insight into the importance of PROMs in gouty arthritis and the measures as well as validation data for PROMs used in the management of gouty arthritis. Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pain is valid and reliable for acute pain measurement. Health Assessment Questionnaire (HAQ) is a valid measure of function. Short Form-36 (SF-36) is a valid measure of health-related quality of life. The use of PROMs in clinical trials of gouty arthritis is growing. However, several currently used PROMs in clinical trials are cumbersome for use in routine clinical care. Further research is needed to develop shorter versions of PROMs and test their feasibility in clinical trial studies.
Prominent cortical and medullary veins on susceptibility-weighted images of acute ischaemic stroke.

Objective:To determine the clinical and imaging implications of prominent cortical and medullary veins on susceptibility-weighted images (SWI) of patients with acute stroke.Methods:Consecutive patients with acute ischaemic stroke who had SWI scan within 24 h of symptom onset or time last-seen-well were included. The SWI series were reviewed for the presence of prominent cortical and medullary veins and were graded independently by two neuroradiologists. The correlations between prominent vein grades with different imaging and clinical variables were determined.Results:Among 213 patients, prominent SWI cortical and medullary veins were identified in 35 (16.4%) patients and 20 (9.4%) patients, respectively. There was fair interobserver agreement (k = 0.314–0.338, p ≤ 0.001) for grading, and moderate agreement (k = 0.406–0.413, p ≤ 0.001) for the presence of prominent veins. Both prominent cortical and medullary veins were associated with the presence of arterial occlusion (rho = 0.232, p = 0.001; rho = 0.18...
Self-assembly of alkanethiolates directs sulfur bonding with GaAs(100)

Abstract Molecules that contain linear alkane chains self-assemble on a variety of surfaces changing the degree of wetting, lubricity, and reactivity. We report on the reoxidation of GaAs(100) in air after adsorbing five alkanethiols (C n H 2 n +1 -SH where n = 3, 6, 12, 18, 20) and one alkanedithiol (HS-(CH 2 ) 8 -SH) deposited from the liquid phase. The alignment of the alkane chains forms a self-assembled layer, however, air diffuses readily through the carbon layer and reaches the surface. The impact of alignment is to improve the bonding of sulfur with the surface atoms which reduces the oxidation rate based on fitting the data to a reaction-diffusion model. The layer thickness and molecular density scale linearly with the number of carbon atoms in the alkane chain. The thickness of the alkanethiolate (RS − ) layer grows by 0.87 ± 0.06 A for each C atom in the chain and the surface density by 0.13 ± 0.03 molecule per nm 2 per C atom up to a coverage of 5.0 molecules/nm 2 for n = 20 or 0.8 monolayer. The surface coverage increases with length because interactions between methylene (CH 2 ) groups in neighboring chains reduce the tilt angle of the molecules with the surface normal. The tight packing yields areas per alkanethiolate as low as 20 A 2 for n = 20. The amount of C in the layer divided by the chain length is approximately constant up to n = 12 but increases sharply by a factor of 2–4× for n = 18 and 20 based on the C 1s X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS) peak. Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy shows that the asymmetric methylene stretch shifts continuously to lower wavenumber and the relative peak area increases sharply with the length of the alkane chain. Fitting the data to a reaction-diffusion model shows that for times less than 30 min the surface oxide coverage does not depend on the thickness of the self-assembled layer nor the diffusivity of oxygen through the layer. Instead increasing the layer thickness makes more S available for bonding with the predominately As termination and reduces the rate coefficient for reaction of oxygen with the GaAs surface.
Autonomous Driving Challenge: To Infer the Property of a Dynamic Object Based on Its Motion Pattern

In autonomous driving applications a critical challenge is to identify the action to take to avoid an obstacle on a collision course. For example, when a heavy object is suddenly encountered it is critical to stop the vehicle or change the lane even if it causes other traffic disruptions. However, there are situations when it is preferable to collide with the object rather than take an action that would result in a much more serious accident than collision with the object. For example, a heavy object which falls from a truck should be avoided whereas a bouncing ball or a soft target such as a foam box need not be.
Long-term impact of a precision agriculture system on grain crop production

Research is lacking on the long-term impacts of field-scale precision agriculture practices on grain production. Following more than a decade (1993–2003) of yield and soil mapping and water quality assessment, a multi-faceted, ‘precision agriculture system’ (PAS) was implemented from 2004 to 2014 on a 36-ha field in central Missouri. The PAS targeted management practices that address crop production and environmental issues. It included no-till, cover crops, growing winter wheat (Triticum aestivum L.) instead of corn (Zea mays L.) for field areas where corn was not profitable, site-specific N for wheat and corn using canopy reflectance sensing, variable-rate P, K and lime using intensively grid-sampled data, and targeting of herbicides based on weed pressure. The PAS assessment was accomplished by comparing it to the previous decade of conventional, whole-field corn-soybean (Glycine max L.) mulch-tillage management. In the northern part of the field and compared to pre-PAS corn, relative grain yield of wheat in PAS was greatly improved and temporal yield variation was reduced on shallow topsoil, but relative grain yield was reduced on deep soil in the drainage channel. In the southern part of the field where corn remained in production, PAS did not lead to increased yield, but temporal yield variation was reduced. Across the whole field, soybean yield and temporal yield variation were only marginally influenced by PAS. Spatial yield variation of all three crops was not altered by PAS. Therefore, the greatest production advantage of a decade of precision agriculture was reduced temporal yield variation, which leads to greater yield stability and resilience to changing climate.
Heat Shock-induced Phosphorylation of TAR DNA-binding Protein 43 (TDP-43) by MAPK/ERK Kinase Regulates TDP-43 Function

TAR DNA-binding protein (TDP-43) is a highly conserved and essential DNA- and RNA-binding protein that controls gene expression through RNA processing, in particular, regulation of splicing. Intracellular aggregation of TDP-43 is a hallmark of amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and ubiquitin-positive frontotemporal lobar degeneration. This TDP-43 pathology is also present in other types of neurodegeneration including Alzheimer's disease. We report here that TDP-43 is a substrate of MEK, a central kinase in the MAPK/ERK signaling pathway. TDP-43 dual phosphorylation by MEK, at threonine 153 and tyrosine 155 (p-T153/Y155), was dramatically increased by the heat shock response (HSR) in human cells. HSR promotes cell survival under proteotoxic conditions by maintaining protein homeostasis and preventing protein misfolding. MEK is activated by HSR and contributes to the regulation of proteome stability. Phosphorylated TDP-43 was not associated with TDP-43 aggregation, and p-T153/Y155 remained soluble under conditions that promote protein misfolding. We found that active MEK significantly alters TDP-43-regulated splicing and that phosphomimetic substitutions at these two residues reduce binding to GU-rich RNA. Cellular imaging using a phospho-specific p-T153/Y155 antibody showed that phosphorylated TDP-43 was specifically recruited to the nucleoli, suggesting that p-T153/Y155 regulates a previously unappreciated function of TDP-43 in the processing of nucleolar-associated RNA. These findings highlight a new mechanism that regulates TDP-43 function and homeostasis through phosphorylation and, therefore, may contribute to the development of strategies to prevent TDP-43 aggregation and to uncover previously unexplored roles of TDP-43 in cell metabolism.
JSAT: Java statistical analysis tool, a library for machine learning

Java Statistical Analysis Tool (JSAT) is a Machine Learning library written in pure Java. It works to fill a void in the Java ecosystem for a general purpose library that is relatively high performance and flexible, which is not adequately fulfilled by Weka (Hall et al., 2009) and Java-ML (Abeel et al., 2009). Almost all of the algorithms are independently implemented using an Object-Oriented framework. JSAT is made available under the GNU GPL license here: https://github.com/EdwardRaff/JSAT.
Review: β-blockers have outcomes similar to calcium antagonists but cause fewer adverse events in stable angina

Source Citation Heidenreich PA, McDonald KM, Hastie T, et al. Meta-analysis of trials comparing β-blockers, calcium antagonists, and nitrates for stable angina. JAMA. 1999 May 26;281;1927-36.
Integrated Mental Health Training for Pediatric and Psychology Trainees Using Standardized Patient Encounters

Primary care pediatricians and psychology practitioners who comanage mental health problems can develop interdisciplinary communication and collaborative skills from joint standardized patient encounters and debriefings, combined with brief didactics. Learners showed increased confidence in shared management of behavior health problems.
Awareness, adoption, and application of the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) Framework for Information Literacy in health sciences libraries

Objective: In early 2016, the Association of College & Research Libraries (ACRL) officially adopted a conceptual Framework for Information Literacy (Framework) that was a significant shift away from the previous standards-based approach. This study sought to determine (1) if health sciences librarians are aware of the recent Framework for Information Literacy; (2) if they have used the Framework to change their instruction or communication with faculty, and if so, what changes have taken place; and (3) if certain librarian characteristics are associated with the likelihood of adopting the Framework. Methods: This study utilized a descriptive electronic survey. Results: Half of all respondents were aware of and were using or had plans to use the Framework. Academic health sciences librarians and general academic librarians were more likely than hospital librarians to be aware of the Framework. Those using the Framework were mostly revising and creating content, revising their teaching approach, and learning more about the Framework. Framework users commented that it was influencing how they thought about and discussed information literacy with faculty and students. Most hospital librarians and half the academic health sciences librarians were not using and had no plans to use the Framework. Librarians with more than twenty years of experience were less likely to be aware of the Framework and more likely to have no plans to use it. Common reasons for not using the Framework were lack of awareness of a new version and lack of involvement in formal instruction. Conclusion: The results suggest that there is room to improve awareness and application of the Framework among health sciences librarians. This article has been approved for the Medical Library Association’s Independent Reading Program .
A Noninvasive Brain-Computer Interface for Real-Time Speech Synthesis: The Importance of Multimodal Feedback

We conducted a study of a motor imagery brain-computer interface (BCI) using electroencephalography to continuously control a formant frequency speech synthesizer with instantaneous auditory and visual feedback. Over a three-session training period, sixteen participants learned to control the BCI for production of three vowel sounds (/ textipa i/ [heed], / textipa A/ [hot], and / textipa u/ [who’d]) and were split into three groups: those receiving unimodal auditory feedback of synthesized speech, those receiving unimodal visual feedback of formant frequencies, and those receiving multimodal, audio-visual (AV) feedback. Audio feedback was provided by a formant frequency artificial speech synthesizer, and visual feedback was given as a 2-D cursor on a graphical representation of the plane defined by the first two formant frequencies. We found that combined AV feedback led to the greatest performance in terms of percent accuracy, distance to target, and movement time to target compared with either unimodal feedback of auditory or visual information. These results indicate that performance is enhanced when multimodal feedback is meaningful for the BCI task goals, rather than as a generic biofeedback signal of BCI progress.
The millennial generation of Sikhs in North America

Millennial Sikhs are second- or in some cases third-generation children born in North America in the last two decades of twentieth century. They have been actively involved in the process of ‘renew...
A Concurrent Recommender System Based on Social Network.

Recommender systems are widely used to improve sales for online retailers. Due to the large number of users and items, reducing computation time and space requirement for a recommender system has become challenging. In this paper, we propose a simple and effective recommender system based on social network of users. We implemented our proposed recommender system using a hashing technique to take advantage of parallel access to the items rated highly by users. To validate our recommendation method, we performed experiments on a real-world data set. The experimental results demonstrate the effectiveness of the proposed recommender system.
Regulation of smooth muscle actomyosin function.

It is widely accepted that the smooth muscle contractile apparatus is primarily regulated by reversible phosphorylation and dephosphorylation of the 20 kDa light chain of myosin (Hartshorne, 1987). The enzyme which is responsible for the phosphorylation is the Ca2+/calmodulin dependent myosin light chain kinase (MLCK) and this is the key enzyme to confer Ca2+ sensitivity to the smooth muscle contractile apparatus (Hartshorne, 1987). Another critical component of the phosphorylation hypothesis is the dephosphorylation of the myosin light chain which is catalyzed by a protein phosphatase. Several protein phosphatases have been purified from the soluble fraction of smooth muscle cells. Pato and collaborators (Pato and Adelstein, 1983a, 1983b; Pato and Kerc, 1985) reported four protein phosphatases from gizzard smooth muscle soluble fraction and three of which (SMP I, II and IV) have been purified. Among them, SMP III and IV can dephosphorylate intact myosin. The purified SMP-IV has a molecular weight of 150 kDa and is composed of two subunits of MW 58 kDa and 40 kDa. SMP-IV preferentially dephosphory-lates the α-subunit of Phosphorylase kinase (a known substrate of Type 1 phosphatases) but is insensitive to Inhibitor-2 which is known to inhibit Type 1 phosphatases specifically. Phosphatases have also been purified from the soluble fraction of aortic smooth muscle (Werth et al., 1982; DiSalvo and Gifford 1983; Erdodi et al., 1989). Erdodi et al. (1989) recently purified two types of phosphatases from dog aortic smooth muscle which dephosphorylate native actomyosin. A 260 kDa phosphatase was similar in its properties to the Type 2A phosphatases. On the other hand, a 150 kDa phosphatase dephosphorylated the α-subunit of Phosphorylase kinase although it was not inhibited by Inhibitor 1 or Inhibitor 2, which are known to be specific inhibitors of Type 1 protein phosphatase. These reports suggest that smooth muscle phosphatases purified from the soluble fraction, which dephosphorylate myosin, may be different from both Type 1 and Type 2 phosphatases. However, it is still obscure whether or not these phosphatases are responsible for the regulation of contraction in vivo. Furthermore, it is not known if phosphatase activity is physiologically regulated, and this is one of the most important areas to be elucidated.
The Development of Serotonin-containing Neurons in the Leech

Given the rapid deployment of new experimental techniques in the last decade, many of the important questions in developmental neurobiology appear to be nearing their resolution. One of these questions is that of how each nerve cell acquires its differentiated characteristics: the appropriate membrane channels and receptors, the capacity to produce and store the appropriate transmitter(s), the correct pattern of process outgrowth, and, finally, the establishment of connections of just the right type and strength with just the right constellation of neurons to produce proper behaviors.
[Vaccination ethics: report on a workshop at the Ruher-Universität Bochum].

Wichtige ethische Themen im Kontext von Impfungen sind das Recht auf Zugang zu praventiven Gesundheitsleistungen, Entscheidungsfreiheit und Solidaritat. Nationale Impfempfehlungen sichern den gleichen Zugang zu Impfungen fur alle. Zugleich schaffen sie aber auch einen moralischen Druck zu Inanspruchnahme der Impfungen, der durch die Notwendigkeit hoher Durchimpfungsraten zur Erreichung der Impfziele begrundet ist. Die Impfentscheidung des Einzelnen muss in Kenntnis des geringen Risikos von Impfnebenwirkungen erfolgen. Als relevante Forschungsfelder in der Impfethik wurden identifiziert: Paternalismus und Transparenz, Kommunikation des Soldaritatsgedankens im Gesundheitswesen und quantitative Fragen zur Definition relevanter Gesundheitsproblem.
Anatole France and Aesthetic Irony

The moment one inquires about the sense or value of life one is sick, since objectively neither of them has any existence. In doing so one is only admitting a surplus of unsatisfied libido, and then something else must happen, a sort of fermenting, for it to lead to grief and depression.1
Highlights Pathology and Interstitial Nephritis

Interstitial nephritis of the primary type is characterized by the appearance of inflammatory cells in the interstitium accompanied by variable degrees of tubular damage but with no primary glomerular change. The interstitium is edematous in the early or acute stages but fibrosis is the rule in the chronic type. The cells are usually of a chronic type — lymphocytes, monocytes, plasma cells and eosinophiles — and these appear at an early stage in the process. In certain forms of glomerulonephritis there is an intense interstitial reaction and this can be referred to as secondary interstitial nephritis.