cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Decision deadlines and uncertainty monitoring: the effect of time constraints on uncertainty and perceptual responses

The behavioral uncertainty response has grounded the study of animal metacognition and influenced the study of human psychophysics. However, the interpretation of this response is debated--especially whether it is a behavioral index of metacognition. The authors advanced this interpretation using the dissociative technique of response deadlines. Uncertainty responding, if it is higher level or metacognitive, should depend on a slower, more controlled decisional process and be more vulnerable to time constraints. Humans performed sparse-uncertain-dense or sparse-middle-dense discriminations in which, respectively, they could decline difficult trials or positively identify middle stimuli. Uncertainty responses were sharply and selectively reduced under a decision deadline, as compared to primary perceptual responses (i.e., "sparse," "middle," and "dense" responses). This dissociation suggests that the uncertainty response does reflect a higher-level, decisional response. It grants the uncertainty response a distinctive psychological role in its task and encourages an interpretation of this response as an elemental behavioral index of uncertainty that deserves continuing research.
Ambulatory-treated Clostridium difficile infection: a comparison of community-acquired vs. nosocomial infection

The purpose of this study was to identify the clinical outcomes of ambulatory-treated Clostridium difficile infection (CDI) and risk factors associated with community-associated CDI (CA-CDI). Adult patients diagnosed with CDI in the institutional or ambulatory-care setting between 1 April 2005 and 30 April 2011, with no other CDI diagnosis in the previous 180 days, and who purchased an ambulatory, anti-CDI agent within 7 days of CDI diagnosis were included. A total of 1201 patients were included with 914 (76%) and 287 (24%) identified with CA-CDI and nosocomial CDI (N-CDI), respectively. Patients with N-CDI were more likely to have had a recurrent CDI (P = 0·043) and died from any cause (P < 0·001). Patients with CA-CDI were younger, healthier, and had fewer traditional risk factors compared to patients with N-CDI. To prevent CA-CDI, clinicians should be aware that patients at risk for CA-CDI are unique from those at risk for N-CDI.
Diether polyphenylquinoxalines. Monomers via nitro displacement–13C‐NMR analysis of monomers and polymers

Bisbenzils have been prepared by nucleophilic aromatic nitro displacement reactions. These materials, some model compounds, and some polyphenylquinoxaline polymers prepared from them were rigorously analyzed by 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The observed chemical shifts were in excellent agreement with calculated values based on model systems. This served as the strongest evidence to support the proposed structures and gave additional intimate structural information on the polyphenylquinoxalines.
Transplantation of Cryopreserved Adult Human Schwann Cells Enhances Axonal Conduction in Demyelinated Spinal Cord

Schwann cells derived from human sural nerve may provide a valuable source of tissue for a cell-based therapy in multiple sclerosis. However, it is essential to show that transplanted human Schwann cells can remyelinate axons in adult CNS and improve axonal conduction. Sections of sural nerve were removed from amputated legs of patients with vascular disease or diabetes, and Schwann cells were isolated and cryopreserved. Suspensions of reconstituted cells were transplanted into the X-irradiation/ethidium bromide lesioned dorsal columns of immunosuppressed Wistar rat. After 3–5 weeks of extensive remyelination, a typical Schwann cell pattern was observed in the lesion zone. Many cells in the lesion were immunopositive for an anti-human nuclei monoclonal antibody. The dorsal columns were removed and maintained in an in vitro recording chamber; the conduction properties were studied using field potential and intra-axonal recording techniques. The transplanted dorsal columns displayed improved conduction velocity and frequency–response properties, and action potentials conducted over a greater distance into the lesion, suggesting that conduction block was overcome. These data support the conclusion that transplantation of human Schwann cells results in functional remyelination of a dorsal column lesion.
Effects of head shape on EEGs and MEGs

Results are presented of computer modeling studies of the effects of head shape on electroencephalograms (EEGs) and magnetoencephalograms (MEGs) and on the localization of electrical sources in the brain using these measurements. The effects of general, nonspherical head shape are determined by comparisons of EEG and MEG maps from nonspherical head models with corresponding maps from a spherical head model. The effects on source localization accuracy are determined by calculating moving dipole inverse solutions in a spherical head model using EEGs and MEGs from the nonspherical models and comparing the solutions with those for known sources. It was found that nonspherical head shape can produce significant changes in the maps produced by some sources in the cortical region of the brain but produce localization errors of less than approximately 1 cm. No significant differences in the effects of such deviations on EEGs and MEGs were found. >
Blood-brain barrier biology and methodology

The blood-brain barrier (BBB) is formed by epithelial-like high resistance tight junctions within the endothelium of capillaries perfusing the vertebrate brain. Because of the presence of the BBB, circulating molecules gain access to brain cells only via one of two processes: (i) lipid-mediated transport of small molecules through the BBB by free diffusion, or (ii) catalyzed transport. The latter includes carrier-mediated transport processes for low molecular weight nutrients and water soluble vitamins or receptor-mediated transport for circulating peptides (e.g., insulin), plasma proteins (e.g., transferrin), or viruses. While BBB permeability, per se, is controlled by the biochemical properties of the plasma membranes of the capillary endothelial cells, overall brain microvascular biology is a function of the paracrine interactions between the capillary endothelium and the other two major cells comprising the microcirculation of brain, i.e., the capillary pericyte, which shares the basement membrane with the endothelial cell, and the astrocyte foot process, which invests 99% of the abluminal surface of the capillary basement membrane in brain. Microvascular functions frequently ascribed to the capillary endothelium are actually executed by either the capillary pericyte or the capillary astrocyte foot process. With respect to BBB methodology, there are a variety of in vivo methods for studying biological transport across this important membrane. The classical physiologic techniques may now be correlated with modern biochemical and molecular biological approaches using freshly isolated animal or human brain capillaries. Isolated brain capillary endothelial cells can also be grown in tissue culture to form an 'in vitro BBB' model. However, BBB research cannot be performed using only the in vitro BBB model, but rather it is necessary to correlate observations made with the in vitro BBB model with in vivo studies.
Oxidative damage in an esophageal adenocarcinoma model with rats

Oxidative damage has long been related to carcinogenesis in human cancers and animal cancer models. Recently a rat esophageal adenocarcinoma (EAC) model was established in our laboratory by using esophagoduodenal anastomosis (EDA) plus iron supplementation. Our previous study suggested that iron supplementation enhanced inflammation and the production of reactive nitrogen species in the esophageal epithelium, which could contribute to esophageal adenocarcinogenesis. Here we further characterized oxidative damage in this model. We were particularly interested in how excess iron was deposited in the esophagus, and which cells were targeted by oxidative damage. Male Sprague-Dawley rats received iron supplementation (50 mg Fe/kg/month, i.p.) starting 4 weeks after EDA. The animals were killed at 11, 30 or 35 weeks after surgery. EAC appeared as early as week 11 after surgery, and increased over time, up to 60% at 35 weeks after surgery. All EACs were well-differentiated mucinous adenocarcinoma at the squamocolumnar junction. Iron deposition was found at the squamocolumnar junction and in the area with esophagitis. Esophageal iron overload could result from transient increase of blood iron after i.p. injection, and the overexpression of transferrin receptor in the premalignant columnar-lined esophagus (CLE) cells. Oxidative damage to DNA (8-hydroxy-2'-deoxyguanosine), protein (carbonyl content) and lipid (thiobarbituric acid reactive substance) in the esophagus was significantly higher than that of the non-operated control. CLE cells were believed to be the target cells of oxidative damage because they overexpressed heme oxygenase 1 and metallothionein, both known to be responsive to oxidative damage. We propose that oxidative damage plays an important role in the formation of EAC in the EDA model, and a similar situation may occur in humans with gastroesophageal reflux and iron over-nutrition.
Morphing into Adolescents: Active Word Learning for English-Language Learners and Their Classmates in Middle School.

Many students arrive at middle school without the academic language skills they need to read sophisticated texts with comprehension. In particular, English language learners and students from low-income backgrounds attending underresourced, urban middle schools lack opportunities to learn the thousands of academic words they need to succeed. To build their comprehension, teachers must not only teach the meanings of specific vocabulary words, but must also equip students with tools to be active word learners. This article presents a research-based approach to improving adolescents' word-learning abilities by building their understanding of morphology.
Investigation of the hydrodynamics of flash floods in ephemeral channels: Scaling analysis and simulation using a shock-capturing flow model incorporating the effects of transmission losses

Flow and infiltration during flash floods in ephemeral channels were investigated through scaling analysis and numerical experiments. Scaling of the equations governing flow has shown that momentum loss due to transmission losses (flow that infiltrates through the channel bed) during flash floods can be of the same order as momentum loss due to channel friction and can significantly affect the flow velocity. Numerical simulations were carried out using a shock-capturing MUSCL (monotonic upstream-centered scheme for conservation laws), which incorporates transmission losses as a sink term in the momentum and continuity equations. The wetted area of the channel bed during floods is the primary control on the volume of water that can infiltrate into the bed. The increased velocity of floods in narrow channels that adds wetted area to the channel bed due to greater flood propagation distance is not sufficient to overcome the reduction in wetted area due to reduced channel width; wider channels transmit a greater percentage of the flood volume that enters the channel reach to the bed sediments. Floods of the same total volume but different hydrograph shapes transmit different proportions of their volume to the bed sediments; the nature and magnitude of the differences will depend on the flood propagation distance. Increasing the total volume of the flood and decreasing the channel width increases the sensitivity of the total infiltration to the hydrograph shape. For reaches of the same bed area but different spatial distributions of channel width, differences in the rate of channel widening affect the spatial distribution but not the total volume of water that infiltrates into the bed sediments.
Incidence of Gallbladder Disease in Chronic Hemolytic Anemia (Spherocytosis)

Summary 1.One hundred fifty-two cases of hereditary hemolytic anemia have been reviewed with reference to cholelithiasis. 2.Forty-three per cent of the patients studied had biliary disease. Twentysix per cent of the total series (not all were operated upon or had cholecystography) had biliary disease. Over 51 per cent of the patients over the age of 40 showed biliary abnormalities. 3.The incidence of cholelithiasis increased in these cases as the age advanced to 40, and was higher than the quoted figures for gallstones in the general population. 4.The incidence of gallbladder disease in hereditary spherocytosis may be expected to decrease with early treatment (splenectomy), with a resultant decrease in the hemolytic condition. 5.Probably another factor in the incidence of cholelithiasis is the degree of activity of the hemolytic process—the more hemolysis present, the greater the likelihood of gallstones. 6.Because of the increased incidence of cholelithiasis in this disease, cholecystography is indicated in every patient with hereditary spherocytosis. 7.Hemolytic anemia should be considered in any young person who develops cholelithiasis.
Sentence Boundary Detection and the Problem with the U.S.

Sentence Boundary Detection is widely used but often with outdated tools. We discuss what makes it difficult, which features are relevant, and present a fully statistical system, now publicly available, that gives the best known error rate on a standard news corpus: Of some 27,000 examples, our system makes 67 errors, 23 involving the word "U.S."
Association between lower extremity posture at contact and peak knee valgus moment during sidestepping: Implications for ACL injury

Background. Knee valgus load during sports movement is viewed as an important predictor of non-contact anterior cruciate ligament injury risk, particularly in females. Formulating movement strategies that can reduce valgus loading during these movements therefore appears pertinent to reducing anterior cruciate ligament injury rates. With this in mind, the current study examined the relationship between peak valgus moment and lower extremity postures at impact during a sidestep cutting task. Methods. Ten male and ten female NCAA athletes had initial contact three-dimensional hip, knee and ankle angles and subsequent knee valgus moment quantified during the execution of (n = 10 trials) sidesteps. Peak valgus data were normalized to mass and height and tested for the main effect of gender (ANOVA, P < 0.05). Intra-subject correlations between the eight initial joint angles and the normalized valgus moment were then conducted across the ten sidestepping trials. The ensuing slopes of regression were submitted to a two-sample t-test to determine whether mean slope values were significantly different from zero and for the main effect of gender (P < 0.05). Findings. Females had significantly larger normalized knee valgus moments than males. A greater peak valgus moment was associated with larger initial hip flexion and internal rotation, and with larger initial knee valgus angle. Peak knee valgus moment was more sensitive to initial hip internal rotation and knee valgus position in females. Interpretation. Training of neuromuscular control at the hip joint may reduce the likelihood of anterior cruciate ligament injury via a valgus loading mechanism during sidestepping, especially in females. � 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Smooth-projected Neighborhood Pursuit for High-dimensional Nonparanormal Graph Estimation

We introduce a new learning algorithm, named smooth-projected neighborhood pursuit, for estimating high dimensional undirected graphs. In particularly, we focus on the nonparanormal graphical model and provide theoretical guarantees for graph estimation consistency. In addition to new computational and theoretical analysis, we also provide an alternative view to analyze the tradeoff between computational efficiency and statistical error under a smoothing optimization framework. Numerical results on both synthetic and real datasets are provided to support our theory.
Brain-Derived Neurotrophic Factor Transgenic Mice Exhibit Passive Avoidance Deficits, Increased Seizure Severity and In Vitro Hyperexcitability in the Hippocampus and Entorhinal Cortex

Transgenic mice overexpressing brain-derived neurotrophic factor from the β-actin promoter were tested for behavioral, gross anatomical and physiological abnormalities. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor messenger RNA overexpression was widespread throughout brain. Overexpression declined with age, such that levels of overexpression decreased sharply by nine months. Brain-derived neurotrophic factor transgenic mice had no gross deformities or behavioral abnormalities. However, they showed a significant passive avoidance deficit. This deficit was dependent on continued overexpression, and resolved with age as brain-derived neurotrophic factor transcripts decreased. In addition, the brain-derived neurotrophic factor transgenic mice showed increased seizure severity in response to kainic acid. Hippocampal slices from brain-derived neurotrophic factor transgenic mice showed hyperexcitability in area CA3 and entorhinal cortex, but not in dentate gyrus. Finally, area CA1 long-term potentiation was disrupted, indicating abnormal plasticity. Our data suggest that overexpression of brain-derived neurotrophic factor in the brain can interfere with normal brain function by causing learning impairments and increased excitability. The results also support the hypothesis that excess brain-derived neurotrophic factor could be pro-convulsant in the limbic system.
Fe–Mg Partitioning between Olivine and High-magnesian Melts and the Nature of Hawaiian Parental Liquids

We conducted 1 atm experiments on a synthetic Hawaiian picrite at fO_2 values ranging from the quartz–fayalite–magnetite (QFM) buffer to air and temperatures ranging from 1302 to 1600°C. Along the QFM buffer, olivine is the liquidus phase at ~1540°C and small amounts of spinel (< 0·2 wt %) are present in experiments conducted at and below 1350°C. The olivine becomes progressively more ferrous with decreasing temperature [Fo_(92·3) to Fo_(87·3), where Fo = 100 × Mg/(Mg + Fe), atomic]; compositions of coexisting liquids reflect the mode and composition of the olivine with concentrations of SiO_2, TiO_2, Al_(2)O_3, and CaO increasing monotonically with decreasing temperature, those of NiO and MgO decreasing, and FeO^* (all Fe as FeO) remaining roughly constant. An empirical relationship based on our data, T(°C) = 19·2 × (MgO in liquid, wt %) + 1048, provides a semi-quantitative geothermometer applicable to a range of Hawaiian magma compositions. The olivine–liquid exchange coefficient, K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) = (FeO/MgO)^(ol)/(FeO/MgO)^(liq), is 0·345 ± 0·009 (1σ ) for our 11 experiments. A literature database of 446 1 atm experiments conducted within 0·25 log units of the QFM buffer (QFM ± 0·25) yields a median K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) of 0·34; K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) values from single experiments range from 0·41 to 0·13 and are correlated with SiO_2 and alkalis in the liquid, as well as the forsterite (Fo) content of the olivine. For 78 experiments with broadly tholeiitic liquid compositions (46–52 wt % SiO_2 and ≤ 3 wt % Na_(2)O + K_(2)O) coexisting with Fo_(92–80) olivines, and run near QFM (QFM ± 0·25), K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) is approximately independent of composition with a median value of 0·340 ± 0·012 (error is the mean absolute deviation of the 78 olivine–glass pairs from the database that meet these compositional criteria), a value close to the mean value of 0·343 ± 0·008 from our QFM experiments. Thus, over the composition range encompassed by Hawaiian tholeiitic lavas and their parental melts, K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg) ~ 0·34 and, given the redox conditions and a Fo content for the most magnesian olivine phenocrysts, a parental melt composition can be reconstructed. The calculated compositions of the parental melts are sensitive to the input parameters, decreasing by ~1 wt % MgO for every log unit increase in the selected fO_2, every 0·5 decrease in the Fo-number of the target olivine, and every 0·015 decrease in K_(D,Fe^(2+)-Mg). For plausible ranges in redox conditions and Fo-number of the most MgO-rich olivine phenocrysts, the parental liquids for Hawaiian tholeiites are highly magnesian, in the range of 19–21 wt % MgO for Kilauea, Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea.
In vitro evaluation of five canine tibial plateau leveling methods.

Objective—To compare application time, accuracy of tibial plateau slope (TPS) correction, presence and magnitude of rotational and angular deformities, and mechanical properties of 5 canine tibial plateau leveling methods. Sample Population—27 canine tibial replicas created by rapid prototyping methods. Procedure—The application time, accuracy of TPS correction, presence and magnitude of rotational and angular deformation, and construct axial stiffness of 3 internal fixation methods (tibial plateau leveling osteotomy, tibial wedge osteotomy, and chevron wedge osteotomy [CWO]) and 2 external skeletal fixation (ESF) methods (hinged hybrid circular external fixation and wedge osteotomy linear fixation [WOLF]) were assessed. Results—Mean bone model axial stiffness did not differ among methods. Mean application time was more rapid for WOLF than for other methods. Mean TPSs did not differ from our 5° target and were lower for ESF methods, compared with internal fixation methods. Mean postoperative rotational ma...
Ultrastructural Study of the Granule Cell Domain of the Cochlear Nucleus in Rats: Mossy Fiber Endings and Their Targets

The principal projection neurons of the cochlear nucleus receive the bulk of their input from the auditory nerve. These projection neurons reside in the core of the nucleus and are surrounded by an external shell, which is called the granule cell domain. Interneurons of the cochlear granule cell domain are the target for nonprimary auditory inputs, including projections from the superior olivary complex, inferior colliculus, and auditory cortex. The granule cell domain also receives projections from the cuneate and trigeminal nuclei, which are first-order nuclei of the somatosensory system. The cellular targets of the nonprimary projections are mostly unknown due to a lack of information regarding postsynaptic profiles in the granule cell areas. In the present paper, we examined the synaptic relationships between a heterogeneous class of large synaptic terminals called mossy fibers and their targets within subdivisions of the granule cell domain known as the lamina and superficial layer. By using light and electron microscopic methods in these subdivisions, we provide evidence for three different neuron classes that receive input from the mossy fibers: granule cells, unipolar brush cells, and a previously undescribed class called chestnut cells. The distinct synaptic relations between mossy fibers and members of each neuron class further imply fundamentally separate roles for processing acoustic signals. i 1996 ~l~ey-~iss, Inc Indexing terms: chestnut cell, Golgi cell, granule cell, synapse, unipolar brush cell
β-Diethylaminoethyl-diphenylpropylacetate (SKF 525-A) enhancement of tissue accumulation of aldrin in mice

Abstract Pretreatment of male Swiss-Webster mice given acutely toxic doses of [ 14 C]aldrin (150 mg/kg ip) with SKF 525-A (50 mg/kg ip) resulted in significant increases in the accumulation of radioactivity in blood, brain, kidney, and liver. Elevated levels of radioactivity were seen whether aldrin was injected in dimethylsulfoxide or methoxytriglycol. This effect was not seen at 5 mg/kg SKF 525-A but was dose-related in blood, kidney, and liver at 50 and 100 mg/kg. Whole body measurements of the extent of aldrin biotransformation in mice pretreated with 50 mg/kg SKF 525-A indicate that the effect is probably not related to differences in metabolite formation or excretion. Both the alteration of tissue accumulation and metabolism may be dependent on the route of administration, dose, and pretreatment interval of SKF 525-A, as well as the route of administration and dose of the compound being tested.
Electricity Price Curve Modeling and Forecasting by Manifold Learning

This paper proposes a novel nonparametric approach for the modeling and analysis of electricity price curves by applying the manifold learning methodology-locally linear embedding (LLE). The prediction method based on manifold learning and reconstruction is employed to make short-term and medium-term price forecasts. Our method not only performs accurately in forecasting one-day-ahead prices, but also has a great advantage in predicting one-week-ahead and one-month-ahead prices over other methods. The forecast accuracy is demonstrated by numerical results using historical price data taken from the Eastern U.S. electric power markets.
Fast Huygens sweeping methods for Helmholtz equations in inhomogeneous media in the high frequency regime

In some applications, it is reasonable to assume that geodesics (rays) have a consistent orientation so that the Helmholtz equation may be viewed as an evolution equation in one of the spatial directions. With such applications in mind, we propose a new Eulerian computational geometrical-optics method, dubbed the fast Huygens sweeping method, for computing Green functions of Helmholtz equations in inhomogeneous media in the high-frequency regime and in the presence of caustics. The first novelty of the new method is that the Huygens–Kirchhoff secondary source principle is used to integrate many locally valid asymptotic solutions to yield a globally valid asymptotic solution so that caustics associated with the usual geometrical-optics ansatz can be treated automatically. The second novelty is that a butterfly algorithm is adapted to carry out the matrix–vector products induced by the Huygens–Kirchhoff integration in O(NlogN) operations, where N is the total number of mesh points, and the proportionality constant depends on the desired accuracy and is independent of the frequency parameter. To reduce the storage of the resulting traveltime and amplitude tables, we compress each table into a linear combination of tensor-product based multivariate Chebyshev polynomials so that the information of each table is encoded into a small number of Chebyshev coefficients. The new method enjoys the following desired features: (1) it precomputes a set of local traveltime and amplitude tables; (2) it automatically takes care of caustics; (3) it constructs Green functions of the Helmholtz equation for arbitrary frequencies and for many point sources; (4) for a specified number of points per wavelength it constructs each Green function in nearly optimal complexity in terms of the total number of mesh points, where the prefactor of the complexity only depends on the specified accuracy and is independent of the frequency parameter. Both two-dimensional (2-D) and three-dimensional (3-D) numerical experiments are presented to demonstrate the performance and accuracy of the new method.
The Impact of Antarctic Cloud Radiative Properties on a GCM Climate Simulation

A sensitivity study to evaluate the impact upon regional and hemispheric climate caused by changing the optical properties of clouds over the Antarctic continent is conducted with the NCAR Community Model version 2 (CCM2). Sensitivity runs are performed in which radiation interacts with ice clouds with particle sizes of 10 and 40 mm rather than with the standard 10-mm water clouds. The experiments are carried out for perpetual January conditions with the diurnal cycle considered. The effects of these cloud changes on the Antarctic radiation budget are examined by considering cloud forcing at the top of the atmosphere and net radiation at the surface. Changes of the cloud radiative properties to those of 10-mm ice clouds over Antarctica have significant impacts on regional climate: temperature increases throughout the Antarctic troposphere by 18‐28C and total cloud fraction over Antarctica is smaller than that of the control at low levels but is larger than that of the control in the midto upper troposphere. As a result of Antarctic warming and changes in the north‐south temperature gradient, the drainage flows at the surface as well as the meridional mass circulation are weakened. Similarly, the circumpolar trough weakens significantly by 4‐8 hPa and moves northward by about 48‐58 latitude. This regional mass field adjustment halves the strength of the simulated surface westerly winds. As a result of indirect thermodynamic and dynamic effects, significant changes are observed in the zonal mean circulation and eddies in the middle latitudes. In fact, the simulated impacts of the Antarctic cloud radiative alteration are not confined to the Southern Hemisphere. The meridional mean mass flux, zonal wind, and latent heat release exhibit statistically significant changes in the Tropics and even extratropics of the Northern Hemisphere. The simulation with radiative properties of 40-mm ice clouds produces colder surface temperatures over Antarctica by up to 38C compared to the control. Otherwise, the results of the 40-mm ice cloud simulation are similar to those of the 10-mm ice cloud simulation.
A Southward Migration of Centennial-Scale Variations of Drought/Flood in Eastern China and the Western United States

Abstract Several studies of the established warm season climate records for eastern China (1470–1997) showed alternating dry and wet periods at centennial scales. The spatial patterns show that when a dry condition or drought was observed in southern China, a wet or flood situation was found in the northern part of eastern China and vice versa. These patterns suggest a meridional variation of the centennial-scale wet/dry anomalies. This study analyzed the same data and showed that the dry and wet anomalies initially appeared in the northern part of eastern China and then migrated southward to affect the low latitudes. An extension of this analysis to the United States revealed a similar southward migration of dry/wet anomalies that first developed in the high latitudes in the western part of the country. The average speed of the migrations in both areas is about 3.0° of latitude per 10 years. The results suggest that mechanisms in mid- and high latitudes may play critical roles in the development of droug...
Effect of substrate surface free energy on the optoelectronic and morphological properties of organolead halide perovskite solar cell materials (Presentation Recording)

Here, we show how the surface free energy of the electron-collecting oxide contact has a very pronounced effect on the nucleation free energy of solution-processed organolead halide perovskite thin films, which influences the crystal size/orientation, band-edge energies, conductivity and, ultimately, the performance of solar cell devices. While a great deal of the research community’s attention has been focused on the perovskite deposition methodology (e.g., starting precursors, annealing conditions, etc.), we demonstrate how the surface free energy of the oxide contact itself can be modified to control morphology and optoelectronic properties of the resulting hybrid perovskite thin films. The surface free energy of high-quality oxide contacts deposited by chemical vapor deposition (CVD) and atomic layer deposition (ALD) is modified by functionalization with a variety of self-assembled monolayers. We explore a number of deposition methodologies (e.g., a variety of single step and sequential step approaches) and their effect on the morphological and electronic properties of the resulting perovskite thin films deposited on these modified oxide contacts. Standard atomic force microscopy (AFM) and its conductive analog (cAFM) show how the oxide surface free energy ultimately affects the nanoscale morphology and charge transport characteristics of these semiconductor films. Photoelectron spectroscopy is used to elucidate the chemical composition (e.g., X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy - XPS), band edge energies (e.g., ultraviolet photoelectron spectroscopy - UPS), and the presence of gap states above the valence band (high sensitivity UPS measurements near the Fermi energy) of the hybrid perovskite materials as a function of the oxide surface free energy.
Enhancing smoking cessation of low-income smokers in managed care.

Background Although office-based and telephone support services enhance the rate of smoking cessation in managed care systems, it is not clear whether such services are effective for very low-income smokers. We evaluated the comparative effectiveness of usual care (physician-delivered advice and follow-up) and usual care enhanced by 6 computer-assisted telephonic-counseling sessions by office nurses and telephone counselors for smoking cessation in very low-income smokers in Medicaid managed care. Methods A randomized clinical trial comparing the 2 approaches was conducted in 3 Michigan community health centers. All clinicians and center staff received standard training in usual care. Selected nurses and telephone counselors received special training in a computer-assisted counseling program focusing on relapse prevention. Results The majority of the study population (233 adult smokers with telephones) were white (64%) women (70%) with annual incomes of less than $10,000 (79%) and with prescriptions of nicotine replacement therapy (>90%). At 3 months, quit rates (smoke-free status verified by carbon monoxide monitors) were 8.1% in the usual-care group and 21% in the telephonic-counseling group (P=.009) by intention-to-treat analysis. Special tracking methods were successful in maintaining participants in treatment. Conclusions Smoking cessation rates are enhanced in a population of very low-income smokers if individualized telephonic-counseling is provided. State and Medicaid managed care plans should consider investing in both office-based nurse and centralized telephonic-counseling services for low-income smokers.
In vivo assessment of HER2 Receptors Expression, Using NIR Fluorescence Imaging with Affibody-DyLight Probe

Her2 overexpression in different carcinoma types is assessed in vivo (mouse model), using time sequences of fluorescence images after injection of HER2-specific fluorescent probes with fast pharmacokinetics.
Comparative Methods for Determining Biological Half-Life (t1/2) of L-Thyroxine in Normal, Throidectomized and Methimazole Treated Female Rats.

SummaryData on the biological half-life (t 1/2) of L-thyroxine-I131 (L-T4-I131) in thyroidectomized, thyroidectomized thyroxine replaced, normal and methimazole treated female rats are presented. Rats thyroidectomized for 7 days had a significantly longer mean t1/2 of L-T4-I131 (P<.005) of 23.7 ± 0.7 hours than thyroidectomized rats which received a mean TSR level of replacement thyroxine of 1.0 μg L-T4/100 g bw and had a mean t1/2 of 17.8 ± 1.1 hours. These thyroxine replaced rats did not differ from intact controls which had a mean t 1/2 of 19.5 ± 2.2 hours. Hypothyroidism induced by subcutaneous injection of 400 μg methimazole/100 g bw/day for 30 days had no effect on the t1/2 of L-T4-I131 as shown by a mean t1/2 of 18.5 ± 2.1 hours. It was shown also that administration of the tracer dose of L-T4-I131 could be made by either subcutaneous or intracardial injection without effect on the t1/2 if proper intervals were maintained between time of injection and collection of the initial blood sample.
Characterization of strong ground motions for performance based seismic engineering

Given the uncertainty in the timing, location and magnitude of future earthquakes, for most engineering purposes it is most meaningful to use a probabilistic approach to characterizing the ground motion that a given site will experience in the future. A probabilistic seismic hazard analysis takes into account the ground motions from the full range of earthquake magnitudes that can occur on each fault or source zone that can affect the site. The probabilistic approach is very compatible with current trends in earthquake engineering and the development of building codes, which have embraced the concept of performance based design. In contrast to the traditional building code approach, performance-based design requires an explicit prediction of the structure’s performance at each of several ground motion levels corresponding to a set of performance objectives. Each performance objective is associated with an annual probability of occurrence, with increasingly undesirable performance characteristics caused by increasing levels of strong ground motion having decreasing annual probability of occurrence. Performance based design requires a more comprehensive representation of ground motions than has conventionally been used. For example, ground motions estimates are needed at multiple annual probability levels, and may need to be specified not only by response spectra but also by suites of strong motion time histories for input into time-domain non-linear analyses of structures, because response spectrum analysis is based on a linear elastic model and therefore does not address the non-linear response that is the essence of building damage and failure.
Modeling of Solid Tumor Progression Thresholds using a Complex Adaptive System Approach

Simulation techniques used to generate complex biological models are becoming promising research tools in oncology. Using a general Complex Adaptive Systems model that can be tailored to map various phenomena, here, we describe how this model applies to tumor growth. The multi-agent modeling environment is generated using Netlogo. The stochastic model consists of active objects including normal immune and cancer cells. The simulations conducted mimicked the tumor progression success and failure and the status of the tumor mass despite constant variations remained stable for an extended time. Furthermore, increasing the efficiency of the immune cells led to decreases in tumor cell numbers variable in both occurrence time and duration.
Social and stylistic variation in the use of phonetic variants of Fortalezense Portuguese para

This paper investigates the social variation surrounding the phonetic variants of para ‘to, for, in order to’ in the educated spoken Portuguese of the city of Fortaleza, Brazil. Through two quantitative analyses of a 75-speaker corpus of the educated spoken Portuguese of 1990’s Fortaleza, the evidence presented shows that the reduction of para to p(r)a was increasing during the period in question from already high rates to near-categoricity in the youngest generation represented. A strong effect is also found for linguistic style where unreduced para, to a great extent, occurs in the niche of formal speech. With respect to the variation surrounding the complex onset in p(r)a, other social attributes are key. In particular, women are significantly less likely than men to use non-rhotic pa, which seems to owe to pa’s relative unacceptability in Brazilian society, although no predictor has any particularly strong effect on this process.
Health Counseling of Adolescents

Health counseling is a fundamental aspect of health care for adolescents and is a natural extension of the concept of anticipatory guidance. It is a dynamic process involving active participation by adolescents. Pediatricians are a valued source of health-relevant information, but must also recognize how their attitudes and beliefs can affect the counseling process. Knowledge of the multitude of changes occurring during adolescence and an understanding of the role of health-risking behaviors in meeting various developmental needs are critical to successful counseling. Particular attention must be focused on ways to help adolescents develop the skills necessary to maintain health-promoting lifestyles and to resist peer pressure to engage in health-risking behaviors.
MM Algorithm for General Mixed Multinomial Logit Models

Summary This paper develops a new technique for estimating mixed logit models with a simple minorization–maximization (MM) algorithm. The algorithm requires minimal coding and is easy to implement for a variety of mixed logit models. Most importantly, the algorithm has a very low cost per iteration relative to current methods, producing substantial computational savings. In addition, the method is asymptotically consistent, efficient and globally convergent. Copyright © 2016 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Alterations in P-Glycoprotein Expression and Function Between Macrophage Subsets

Macrophages are an important cellular reservoir in HIV, and exist in two phenotypically dissimilar subsets, the pro-inflammatory M1 phenotype, and the anti-inflammatory M2 phenotype. The role of these two subsets is uncertain. We hypothesized that differences in drug efflux transporters exist between the subsets, which would result in altered intracellular drug concentrations between these cells. U937 monocytic cells were polarized to the M1 or M2 phenotype via treatment with interferon-gamma and LPS, or interleukins 4, 13, and LPS, respectively. PGP function was assessed with Hoechst 33342, and expression via western blotting. Intracellular lopinavir was assessed via LC-MS/MS. Data was confirmed with primary monocyte derived macrophages. We observed significant differences in intracellular concentrations of lopinavir, a PGP substrate, with higher concentrations in M1 cells. PGP function and expression was higher in the M2 macrophages. These results were confirmed with primary monocyte derived macrophages. This data shows that there are previously unreported differences in P-glycoprotein expression between macrophage subsets, and suggests that there may be differences for other transporters. These differences can play a role in intracellular drug concentrations in these cells, and may allow for low-level HIV replication.
Dispersive pulse compression in a synchronously pumped OPO

Synchronously pumped (SP) optical parametric oscillators (OPO) are very attractive as a source of ultrashort pulses easily tunable over a wide spectral range from ultraviolet to infrared.1 We report here on both experimental and numerical results that show that the dispersive walk-off between the pump and oscillating pulses in the nonlinear crystal in the SPOPO leads to compression of the oscillating pulse well above threshold.
Scaffolding Proteins in Transport Regulation

In recent years, there has been an explosion of discovery about proteins that function to organize components of the signal transduction machinery with their effectors at specific subcellular locales. Many of these molecular scaffolds control the assembly, trafficking, subcellular location and activity of epithelial transport proteins and their regulators, and, thus, are critical determinants of epithelial transport modulation. Here, the review the present state of knowledge about the two major classes of molecular scaffolds, PDZ-proteins and AKAPs, and discuss their role in renal epithelial transport.
Two-Person Technique of Peroral Endoscopic Myotomy for Achalasia with an Advanced Endoscopist and a Thoracic Surgeon: Initial Experience

Background and Aims. We initiated peroral endoscopic myotomy (POEM) utilizing a two-person technique with combination of an advanced endoscopist and a thoracic surgeon with complementary skills. Our aim was to determine the feasibility and outcomes in initial 20 patients. Methods. In this observational study, main outcomes measured were therapeutic success in relieving symptoms (Eckardt score < 3), decrease in lower esophageal sphincter (LES) pressures, improvement in emptying on timed barium esophagogram (TBE), and complications. Results. POEM was successful in all 20 patients with a mean operative time of minutes. Eckardt symptom scores decreased significantly at two-month follow-up ( versus , ). Both basal and residual LES pressures decreased significantly ( mmHg versus and versus mmHg, and <0.001, resp.). Barium column height at 5 minutes on TBE reduced from cm to cm (). Two patients (10%) had mucosal perforations and one had delayed bleeding (5%). Conclusions. Two-person technique of POEM with combination of an advanced endoscopist and a thoracic surgeon is highly successful with low risk of complications.
Follow-Up Care After Emergency Department Visits for Mental and Substance Use Disorders Among Medicaid Beneficiaries

Objective:This study examined whether characteristics of Medicaid beneficiaries were associated with receipt of follow-up care after discharge from the emergency department (ED) following a visit for mental or substance use disorders.Methods:Medicaid fee-for-service claims from 15 states and the District of Columbia in 2008 were used to calculate whether adults received follow-up (seven and 30 days) after being discharged from the ED following a visit for mental disorders (N=31,952 discharges) or substance use disorders (N=13,337 discharges). Random-effects logistic regression was used to model the odds of receiving follow-up as a function of beneficiary characteristics.Results:Receipt of follow-up varied widely across states and by beneficiary characteristics. The odds of seven- and 30-day follow-up after mental health ED discharges were lower among males; African Americans versus whites; and beneficiaries who qualified for Medicaid on the basis of income rather than disability, beneficiaries with depres...
Adaptive Multimode Hybrid Precoding for Single-RF Virtual Space Modulation With Analog Phase Shift Network in MIMO Systems

In this paper, we propose a novel transmission approach, namely, analog precoding-aided virtual space modulation (APAVSM), and its corresponding multimode hybrid precoder designs in the multiple-input multiple-output system. We consider the system equipped with a single radio frequency chain and a phase shift network. Our proposed designs can attain benefits of both beamforming and spatial modulation, and therefore enable the significant signal-to-noise power ratio enhancement with efficient degrees of freedom utilization and low cost. We elaborate APAVSM and formulate the multimode hybrid precoder design problem. To solve the problem, we impose restrictions on the number of candidate modes for selection, and propose the hybrid precoder design approach in which two non-convex max-min problems are solved sequentially by iterative approaches. To trade off between error rate and complexity, we propose alternative designs by reducing the dimensionality and/or relaxing constraints. Moreover, by the concept of beamspace, heuristic algorithms are proposed with extremely low complexities. We offer complexity analyses for proposed design approaches. Simulations in Ralyigh fading and millimeter-wave (mmWave) channels are used to evaluate the proposed designs. Results show that our designs can outperform the existing SM-MIMO systems, and provide the feasible operation in mmWave channels with severe path loss. Moreover, the superiority of proposed designs to the conventional precoding-aided MIMO systems is numerically demonstrated.
Minority stress and leukocyte gene expression in sexual minority men living with treated HIV infection.

Abstract Sexual minority (i.e., non-heterosexual) individuals experience poorer mental and physical health, accounted for in part by the additional burden of sexual minority stress occurring from being situated in a culture favoring heteronormativity. Informed by previous research, the purpose of this study was to identify the relationship between sexual minority stress and leukocyte gene expression related to inflammation, cancer, immune function, and cardiovascular function. Sexual minority men living with HIV who were on anti-retroviral medication, had viral load
The Role of the Mother-Infant Interaction in Nutritional Disorders

Recent efforts to identify the various pathways or mechanisms through which nutritional variations might influence behavioral development have focused on the role of early mother-infant interaction in causing or contributing to infantile mulnutrition. By the term mother-infant interaction, we refer to the pattern of behavior engaged in by the mother (or other primary caregiver) and the infant as they relate to each other over time. It is particularly important to examine both the mother’s behavior toward the infant and the infant’s behavior toward the mother, since each may influence the response of the other (Bell, 1974).