cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantitation of early clonal expansion of two mutant 61st codon c-Ha-ras alleles in DMBA/TPA treated mouse skin by nested PCR/RFLP

It has been hypothesized that tumor promotion in mouse skin involves clonal expansion of initiated cells with activated c-Harvey (Ha)-ras oncogene to give rise to benign tumors. We have used the two stage mouse skin carcinogenesis model using 7,12-dimethylbenz[a]anthracene (DMBA) as the initiator and 12-O-tetradecanoyl-phorbol-13-acetate (TPA) as the tumor promoter to quantitate the number of mutated c-Ha-ras alleles in mouse epidermal DNA. Epidermal samples were harvested over a 12-week period before the appearance of papillomas. Three 61st codon (i.e. CAA) c-Ha-ras mutations, CTA (T2), CGA (G2) and CAT (T3) were quantitated by newly developed nested PCR/RFLP assays. During TPA promotion the number of T2 mutant copies showed a progressive increase starting at 4 weeks after initiation and the number of T3 mutant alleles showed an increase starting at 6 weeks. By 12 weeks after initiation, TPA-promoted mouse epidermis averaged approximately 8x10(5) T2 mutant alleles per epidermis while the number of T3 mutant alleles averaged 3x10(4) per epidermis. The best-fit lines for the quantitation of mutant alleles derived from DMBA/TPA-treated mice from 4 to 12 weeks after initiation were exponential. These results were consistent with clonal expansion of epidermal cells carrying these mutations during tumor promotion. The slopes of the best-fit lines for the mutant copies indicated a trend in which cells with the T2 mutations had a growth advantage during TPA promotion over cells with the T3 mutation.
Declines in blood lead concentrations in clinically affected and unaffected cattle accidentally exposed to lead

Lead (Pb) poisoning remains a common cause of morbidity in dairy and beef cattle. Although Pb toxicosis is typically diagnosed in cattle with clinical signs of acute or subacute Pb poisoning, it ha...
Pathophysiological Findings in a Patient with Shy-Drager and Alveolar Hypoventilation Syndromes

This report describes the clinical, physiologic and pathologic findings in a patient with alveolar hypoventilation, acquired autonomic dysfunction, parkinsonism, and sensorimotor polyneuropathy. While there were pathologic findings in both central and peripheral nervous systems, there were no morphologic changes in the regions of the brainstem considered responsible for respiratory rhythmogenesis. A hypothesis is developed based on the assumption that the abnormalities in respiratory control which led to the patient's death are explained by abnormalities in the feedback control of respiration.
Experimental evaluation of the performance of pulsed two-color laser-ranging systems

Two-color laser-ranging systems can be used to estimate the atmospheric delay by measuring the difference in propagation times between two optical pulses transmitted at different wavelengths. This paper describes horizontal-path ranging experiments that were conducted using flat diffuse targets and cube-corner reflector arrays. Measurements of the timing accuracy of the cross-correlation estimator, atmospheric delay, received pulse shapes, and signal power spectra are presented. The results are in general agreement with theory and indicate that target speckle can be the dominant noise source when the target is small and is located far from the ranging system or when the target consists of a small number of cube-corner reflectors.
Non-linear vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy of atmospherically relevant molecules at aqueous solution surfaces

Surface vibrational sum frequency spectroscopy has been shown to be a powerful surface probe of molecules adsorbed at solid and liquid surfaces. Studies described herein apply this method to studying heterogeneous airraqueous solution interfaces to understand surface adsorption and structure of several solute molecules adsorbed at aqueous surfaces. The . .
Shoulder impairments and their association with symptomatic rotator cuff disease in breast cancer survivors.

Abstract Over 2.6 million breast cancer survivors currently reside in the United States. While improvements in the medical management of women diagnosed with breast cancer have resulted in a 5-year survival rate of 89%, curative treatments are associated with a high prevalence of shoulder and arm morbidity, which, in turn, can negatively impact a woman’s quality of life. Breast cancer survivors frequently experience shoulder and arm pain, decreased range of motion, muscle weakness, and lymphedema. These symptoms can lead to difficulties with daily activities ranging from overhead reaching and carrying objects to caring for family and returning to work. Despite health care professionals awareness of these problems, a significant number of breast cancer survivors are confronted with long-term, restricted use of their affected shoulder and upper extremity. This problem may partially be explained by: (1) an incomplete understanding of relevant impairments and diagnoses associated with shoulder/arm pain and limited upper extremity use, and (2) the limited effectiveness of current rehabilitation interventions for managing shoulder pain and decreased upper extremity function in breast cancer survivors. Because breast cancer treatment directly involves the neuromusculoskeletal tissues of the shoulder girdle, it is understandable why breast cancer survivors are likely to develop shoulder girdle muscle weakness and fatigue, decreased shoulder motion, altered shoulder girdle alignment, and lymphedema. These impairments can be associated with diagnoses such as post-mastectomy syndrome, adhesive capsulitis, myofascial dysfunction, and brachial plexopathy, all of which have been reported among breast cancer survivors. It is our belief that these impairments also put women at risk for developing symptomatic rotator cuff disease. In this paper we set forth the rationale for our belief that breast cancer treatments and subsequent impairments of shoulder girdle neuromusculoskeletal tissues place breast cancer survivors at risk for developing symptomatic rotator cuff disease. Additionally, we identify knowledge gaps related to the current understanding of relevant shoulder girdle impairments and their association with symptomatic rotator cuff disease in breast cancer survivors. Ultimately, information from studies designed to meet these gaps will provide a scientific basis for the development of new, or refinement of existing, examination, intervention, and prevention techniques, which should lead to improved clinical outcomes in this population.
Phase transitions, soft modes, and critical fluctuations

This paper gives an introductory review of the field of phase transitions. The first part contains a general discussion of the dynamical mechanism of phase transitions. The interactions between the particles are shown to yield a feedback effect in the collective response of the system to small external perturbations. This feedback provides the mechanism which can give rise to instabilities for certain critical values of the external parameters. It is pointed out how the static aspects of the instability (characterized by a singularity in the static response function) are intimately related to dynamic aspects, namely the occurrence of soft collective modes and of critical fluctuations. In the second part, the general picture is illustrated by a number of specific examples. Experimental results on soft mode behavior and critical fluctuations are shown for ferromagnetic, antiferromagnetic, ferroelectric, and structural phase transitions. It is further demonstrated that the existence of critical fluctuations near a phase transition gives rise to anomalous behavior of various physical properties of the system. Finally, some problems are indicated which arise in connection with instabilities occurring in nonequilibrium systems.
Fleet Management in Humanitarian Sector

Fleet management is a major concern for international humanitarian organizations because of (1) the magnitude of transportation related costs in humanitarian operations, second only to personnel cost and, (2) the pivotal role that transportation plays in the order fulfillment process. Humanitarian organizations face unusual operating constraints, which include working in areas with poor infrastructure, extreme environmental conditions as well as budget limitations. Most of the existing models derived from commercial supply chains are inapplicable in such a context. Therefore, a new set of tools and theories is required. This dissertation contributes to the development of such a new set of tools. It is composed of two parts that address two related questions in humanitarian fleet management: (1) how to determine the optimal fleet size and the optimal procurement strategy at an aggregate level and, (2) how to optimally manage an existing fleet the field level. Lack of data is the main challenge that prevents humanitarian organizations from adopting data-intensive models developed for commercial supply chains. Accordingly, the first part of this thesis studies how to determine optimal fleet capacity over time and how to minimize procurement costs for different demand profiles in the absence of detailed data. Contrary to conventional wisdom in humanitarian organizations, its findings show that a mixed policy of level and chase procurement strategies minimizes procurement costs and that a level strategy is the optimal approach to procurement in most humanitarian missions. The second part of the dissertation concentrates on fleet management policies at the field level. To optimize fleet performance and maximize demand coverage, humanitarian organizations implement policies to enhance the utilization of vehicles and minimize their physical depreciation. Through the analysis of a large humanitarian organization’s fleet in four representative countries (Sudan, Ethiopia, Afghanistan and Georgia) the results of this dissertation suggest that: (1) it is not necessary to assign different vehicles to specific mission types (2) all vehicles should be used following the same usage policy regardless of their mission type and, (3) the vehicle replacement policy implemented by most humanitarian organizations is not effective and needs to be reconsidered. Results also demonstrate that, on average, a utilization-depreciation trade-off does not exist and that a wellconceived fleet management policy can allow for both higher vehicle utilization and lower depreciation.
Automatic reconfiguration in the presence of failures

The paper describes a new kind of distributed system service, the availability management service, responsible for ensuring that the critical services of a distributed system remain continuously available to users despite arbitrary numbers of concurrent node removals and node restarts caused by failures, maintenance, and growth. It stresses the main ideas behind this new service, and outlines a simple design that depends on the existence of synchronous membership and atomic broadcast group communication services. Extensions of this initial design to deal with asynchronous group communication services are also briefly discussed. >
Differentiation of Peritubular Myoid Cells of the Testis: Effects of Intratesticular Implantation of Newborn Mouse Testes into Normal and Hypophysectomized Adults

hormones in the postnatal differentiation of the peritubular myoid cell. The implanted testes were recovered at varying periods of time and the fine structure of the myoid cells was compared with that observed in intact littermates. Differentiation of the peritubular tissue in testes implanted into normal hosts paralleled that of the intact animal. The pentubular tissue of implants in hypophysectomized hosts retained the morphological features observed in the newborn indicating that maturation of the peritubular myoid cells is dependent on normal pituitary function. Implants in hypophysectomized hosts treated with testosterone exhibited some of the changes observed during normal myoid cell development. A correlation was noted between growth of the seminiferous cords and differentiation of the peritubular cells. It is suggested that in addition to pituitary hormones, the seminiferous epithelium also influences differentiation of the peritubular connective tissue. The possible involvement of Sertoli cells in myoid cell differentiation is discussed. The relationship between fibroblasts and smooth muscle cells is considered.
Pulmonary Adenocarcinoma Metastatic to the Choroid Diagnosed by Biopsy of an Extrascleral Nodule

Purpose/Background: To report a patient with orbital extension of a choroidal metastasis produced by a pulmonary adenocarcinoma which was diagnosed by biopsy of the extrascleral nodule. Methods: Clinical history and imaging studies (including fundus photography, autofluorescence, fluorescein angiography, B-scan, and orbital MRI) were reviewed along with histopathologic and immunohistochemical studies. Results: A 60-year-old woman presented with decreased vision in the right eye. Fundus examination revealed a leopard-spotted choroidal lesion and associated serous retinal detachment. Imaging disclosed an enhancing orbital lesion abutting the sclera near the choroidal mass, which had spread outside of the eye. Histopathology revealed lumen-forming cells elaborating mucin. The cells were immunohistochemically positive for epithelial membrane antigen, thyroid transcription factor 1, and cytokeratin 7 and negative for cytokeratin 20. This was consistent with a pulmonary adenocarcinoma. Widespread metastases were subsequently found. Conclusions: This is the first detailed case report of a successful biopsy of the orbital extension of an essentially posterior intraocular tumor. Such a maneuver permits a much more generous tissue sample than a needle biopsy. In the current case, a large tissue sample provided the basis for complete immunohistochemical evaluation, leading to the diagnosis of an intraocular metastatic mucin-producing adenocarcinoma of lung origin.
Is there an Enhanced Role for Corporate Leadership to Integrate Its CSR Strategies into Supply Chain Management? A Conceptual Inquiry

This paper argues that there is an emergent and enhanced role for corporate governance in the area of supply chain oversight, due to on-going problems in the multi-tiered webs of today’s buyer-supplier relationships. The challenge is for corporate leadership in buyer firms to develop improved methods of ensuring that their suppliers manage with ethical values consonant with the sustainability strategies of those buyer firms, whose brands and reputations are at stake. For pragmatic reasons, today’s corporate leaders must view embedding of ethics in their supply chains not only as deontological value, but as crucial risk management tools. This study raises the question: what is the role of corporate leadership in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (Note 1) in Supply Chain Management? (Note 2)
Transdisciplinary research partnerships in sustainability science: an examination of stakeholder participation preferences

Sustaining coupled natural and human systems requires multiple forms of knowledge, experiences, values, and resources be brought into conversation to address sustainability challenges. Transdisciplinary research partnerships provide the opportunity to meet this requirement by bringing together interdisciplinary scientists with stakeholders in some or all stages of the knowledge production process. However, building partnerships to produce sustainability outcomes is a complex process requiring an understanding of the social psychological and contextual variables impacting partnerships. Here, we explore local government officials’ (LGOs’) preferences for participation in these partnerships. Using data from a statewide survey, we develop a theoretically and empirically derived model to test the relationship between a suite of factors and LGOs’ preferred transdisciplinary partnership style. We find collaboration preferences are influenced by LGOs’ confidence that researchers can help solve problems, experience with researchers, the severity and type of problem(s) occurring in the community, and partner trust. Assessing stakeholder partnership expectations may assist partners with co-designing flexible research processes that address collaboration expectations, foster dialog and social learning among project partners, and that increase the potential of research to influence change.
Managing Contact Dynamics for Orbital Robotic Servicing Missions

Managing the contact dynamics between a robotic servicing vehicle and a client spacecraft is one of the most fundamental capabilities required to enable robotic servicing missions. Managing contact dynamics is especially challenging when designing servicing missions for existing space assets, since soft capture devices are not often present on current generation spacecraft. This paper details the contact dynamics management strategies employed on the Naval Research Laboratory’s FREND project, a DARPA-sponsored technology development program aimed at designing and building a robotic payload capable of grappling and repositioning existing space assets. The technological centerpiece of FREND is a space-rated 7DOF robotic manipulator. Design of the compliance control algorithm for the FREND arm is described. Analysis showing how to match the mass properties of a free–floating spacecraft with an air–bearing mass sled are presented. Results of testing the ability of FREND to grapple an appropriately designed air bearing sled with mass and inertia properties similar to a geosynchronous satellite are presented.
Susceptibility of Human Lymphoblastoid Cell Lines to a Cytopathic Effect Induced by an Arginine-Utilizing Mycoplasma Strain

A strain of mycoplasma, isolated from a human lymphoblastoid cell line (HLCL), produced cellular lysis in some HLCLs and not in others. Mycoplasma multiplied in HLCLs that were destroyed and also in those which were unaffected. A preliminary survey of nine HCLCs suggested that susceptibility to the mycoplasma was not correlated with the origin of the HLCLs, which came from patients with malignancy, infectious mononucleosis, or from normal individuals. HLCLs with and without detectable antigen to Epstein-Barr virus were susceptible. Cellular lysis could be prevented or arrested by the addition of arginine; this suggests that the susceptibility of certain lines of cells to mycoplasma may be related to differences in the cells' requirements for arginine. We have encountered as a presumably adventitious agent in a human lymphoblastoid cell line (HLCL), a strain of mycoplasma that is cytocidal for some HLCLs and not for others. This phenomenon was studied for several reasons. First, it was of practical importance to describe the effect of the mycoplasma in order to distinguish death of HLCL due to mycoplasma from destruction induced by concentrated and partially purified Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) [1]. Second, it seemed of potential interest to determine whether sensitivity or resistance to destruction by the mycoplasma correlated with the state of disease of the patient from whom the HLCL originated and with the presence or absence of detectable EBV. Third, a preliminary effort to ascertain the
Drug utilization evaluation for partial biological products put forward domestic safety warning during 2007

AIM To evaluate the drug utilization of partial biological products put forward safety warning by SFDA in 157 hospitals of 6 main cities along the Yangtze River Valley during 2007.METHODS The total factory market shares of human immunoglobulin(pH4) for intravenous injection,the drug expenditure and Defined Daily Dose(DDDs) of 3 kinds of thymosin used in the clinics of the area were arranged in order.RESULTS The product market share of human immunoglobulin put forward safety warning by SFDA in 2007 occupied only 0.28% of all the totals utilization in the 6 main urban markets.In thymosin DDDs sequence the rough products easy to cause anaphylactic shock was rising to nearly No.1 in 6 cities,but the more efficacy and safer thymosin α1 products were paid the more and more clinical attentions.CONCLUSION In view of the rough various thymic peptide products mainly used in the Yantze River Valley at present,they should be applied with indications strictly and restrainedly,and at the same time the adverse reactions should be inspected rigorously all the time.
Relationship between idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura and the human parvovirus B19(HPV-B19)infection in children

Objective To study the relationship between idiopathic thrombocytopenic purpura (ITP) and the human parvovirusB19(HPV-B19) infections in children.Methods The HPVB19-IgM was detected using ELISA test in 102 patients with ITP.Results The HPVB-19 IgM was positive in 41 (40.20%) of 102 patients with ITP . The HPVB-19 IgM was positive in 2 (6.67%)of 30 normal subjects. The HPVB-19 infections positive rate in this study was significantly higher than that of control group.(P0.05).Conclusion These results suggest that occurrence of ITP might be correlated with HPV-B19 infecteion.
On the Reduction of Combustion Noise by a Close-Coupled Pilot Injection in a Small-Bore DI Diesel Engine

For a pilot-main injection strategy in a single cylinder light duty diesel engine, the dwell between the pilot- and main-injection events can significantly impact combustion noise. As the solenoid energizing dwell decreases below 200 μs, combustion noise decreases by approximately 3 dB and then increases again at shorter dwells. A zero-dimensional thermodynamic model has been developed to capture the combustion-noise reduction mechanism; heat-release profiles are the primary simulation input and approximating them as top-hat shapes preserves the noise-reduction effect. A decomposition of the terms of the underlying thermodynamic equation reveals that the direct influence of heat-release on the temporal variation of cylinder-pressure is primarily responsible for the trend in combustion noise. Fourier analyses reveal the mechanism responsible for the reduction in combustion noise as a destructive interference in the frequency range between approximately 1 kHz and 3 kHz. This interference is dependent on the timing of increases in cylinder-pressure during pilot heat-release relative to those during main heat-release. The mechanism by which combustion noise is attenuated is fundamentally different from the traditional noise reduction that occurs with the use of long-dwell pilot injections, for which noise is reduced primarily by shortening the ignition delay of the main injection. Band-pass filtering of measured cylinder-pressure traces provides evidence of this noise-reduction mechanism in the real engine.When this close-coupled pilot noise-reduction mechanism is active, metrics derived from cylinder-pressure such as the location of 50% heat-release, peak heat-release rates, and peak rates of pressure rise cannot be used reliably to predict trends in combustion noise. The quantity and peak value of the pilot heat-release affect the combustion noise reduction mechanism, and maximum noise reduction is achieved when the height and steepness of the pilot heat-release profile are similar to the initial rise of the main heat-release event. A variation of the initial rise-rate of the main heat-release event reveals trends in combustion noise that are the opposite of what would happen in the absence of a close-coupled pilot. The noise-reduction mechanism shown in this work may be a powerful tool to improve the tradeoffs among fuel efficiency, pollutant emissions, and combustion noise.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Green-Lighting Proposals for Software Engineering Team-Based Project Courses

Many software engineering curriculum conclude with a practicum or capstone project course. For courses involving external clients, the course owner typically follows a Request for Proposal process to vet (or green-light) qualified clients and projects. Even though green-lighting projects does not guarantee project success, the goal is to reduce risks by systematically examining each proposal to identify potential problems that the instructor could solve, mitigate against, or simply decide not to deal with by rejecting the proposal. We propose and evaluate a Green-Lighting Approach based on the SEMAT (Software Engineering Method and Theory) Essence framework. Our objective is to identify if such a framework could improve the Request for Proposal process at Carnegie Mellon University in Silicon Valley and other universities. We conducted a case study by observing and interviewing the course owner, examining a group of proposals, and identifying issues with the current proposal process and practicum projects. We proposed a green-lighting project state that, based upon Essence Alphas, describes the minimal and ideal states that a project proposal should achieve to be accepted. The Green-Lighting Approach generated conversations among the faculty that clarified the guidelines for accepting and prioritizing proposals and identified deficiencies in our Request for Proposal. Additional work is required to refine the proposed Green-Lighting Approach based on current findings and further validate the approach. Using Essence for green-lighting practicum projects in academia presents some limitations. The framework does not explicitly factor in business forces that affect proposal selection, might be overly complex for the task, and might require modification with partial Alpha states. However, Essence provides a systematic approach for evaluating proposals based on various project dimensions. This approach could be used as an inspiration for deriving simpler custom green-lighting checklists.
Current and Emerging Research on Economics of Higher Education

In this concluding chapter, we briefly revisit each of the topical areas in the economics of higher education that we have covered in Chaps. 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, and 9 of this book. Our purpose here is not to summarize the content of those chapters. Instead, for each broad topical area or chapter, we introduce and examine a subtopic that has been the focus of more recent and current economic research in each subject. Current research is the best indicator of future research. Therefore, by considering representative examples of recent research on a subtopic related to each chapter of the book, we hope to illustrate future directions toward which economic research has recently been, or is now, moving in each of the broad areas.
Domains due to Electric and Magnetic Fields in Bulk Samples of Liquid Crystals

Domains are created by electric or magnetic fields in bulk samples initially well aligned. The fields are applied perpendicular to the nematic director, and domains form which appear to be separated by walls. The possibility of inversion walls are considered. When applying electric fields (conduction regime) the space-charge density should be a maximum at the walls because of the conductivity anisotropy. The forces, due to the interaction of the electric field with the space-charge at the walls, tend to shear the sample. Because of shear flow, the director associated with the sample between the walls is turned toward the electric field. This mechanism is also likely to be involved in the dynamic scattering mode.
Some aspects of wave propagation in viscous liquids in conduits

The two-dimensional dispersion of water hammer type waves, specifically the waves initiated by sudden valve closure in fully developed laminar flow, in viscous liquids contained in a closed conduit is investigated by an approximate method. The problems of flow between two infinite parallel plates and in a circular cylinder are considered.
A Multi-US City Assessment of Awareness and Uptake of Pre-exposure Prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV Prevention Among Black Men and Transgender Women Who Have Sex with Men

The HIV epidemic among Black men and transgender women who have sex with men (BMTW) demands an urgent public health response. HIV point prevalence among this population ranges from 25 to 43%-a rate far exceeding any other group. Pre-exposure prophylaxis (PrEP) for HIV prevention is a very promising prevention tool; however, its full potential to slow the epidemic has yet to be realized. For the current study, random time-location sampling at Black Gay Pride Events was used to collect data from N = 1274 BMTW, from five US cities, reporting HIV-negative/unknown status. In-field HIV testing was also provided to participants. Participants were assessed on awareness and use of PrEP, health care factors, HIV testing history, psychosocial variables, and sex behaviors. About one third of participants were aware of PrEP (39%), and a small percentage of participants were users of PrEP (4.6%). In multivariable analyses, being in a relationship, testing for HIV in the past 6 months, and others being aware of one's sexuality were positively associated with PrEP awareness. Higher levels of internalized homophobia and greater numbers of female sex partners were positively associated with PrEP use, while education and condom use were negatively associated. Based on study findings, messaging and uptake of PrEP needs greater expansion and requires novel approaches for scale-up. Improving linkage to HIV testing services is likely critical for engaging BMTW with PrEP. The potential for PrEP to slow the HIV epidemic is high; however, we must strengthen efforts to ensure universal availability and uptake.
Exploring the Temporal Nature of the Relationship between OCB and CWB

This manuscript seeks to explain the effect of time on the relationship between organizational citizenship behavior (OCB) and counterproductive work behavior (CWB). Due to inconsistencies in previo...
Dynamic encryption key security scheme (DEKSS) for mobile and cloud systems

Our Dynamic Encryption Key Security Scheme (DEKSS) is a novel security strategy that utilizes a secure architecture to dispatch and manage data through multiple Cloud Service Providers (CSP). This strategy can promise data security for both clients and service providers without impacting the other party negatively. While there are limitations in being truly secure, such as those recognized by WhiteHat security in their annual reports[1],our security scheme can secure effectively data through being able to fold data in as many encrypted layers as desired for every table name and column of data stored. Through this approach, we have found it applicable to a variety of different audiences in the cloud security space.
The Role of Mental Health Counselors in International Human Rights: Reflections on Counseling Services with Urban Refugees at the Refugee Law Project in Kampala, Uganda

Drawing on the experiences of a Mental Health Counselor trainee in the Anti-Torture and Mental Health Unit of the Legal and Psychosocial Department of the Refugee Law Project in Kampala, Uganda, this article provides an overview of the refugee population and services in sub-Saharan Africa, specifically in East Africa. Using case examples, this paper highlights the challenges of and opportunities for providing effective mental health services to this population within this context, while reflecting on the first author’s experience. The article concludes with considerations for ethical and culturally competent practices for mental health counselors in the early stage of their professional careers who are new to the field of human rights and social justice.
Local vs. national: Epidemiology of pedestrian injury in a mid-Atlantic city

ABSTRACTObjective: Understanding pedestrian injury trends at the local level is essential for program planning and allocation of funds for urban planning and improvement. Because we hypothesize that local injury trends differ from national trends in significant and meaningful ways, we investigated citywide pedestrian injury trends to assess injury risk among nationally identified risk groups, as well as identify risk groups and locations specific to Baltimore City.Methods: Pedestrian injury data, obtained from the Baltimore City Fire Department, were gathered through emergency medical services (EMS) records collected from January 1 to December 31, 2014. Locations of pedestrian injuries were geocoded and mapped. Pearson's chi-square test of independence was used to investigate differences in injury severity level across risk groups. Pedestrian injury rates by age group, gender, and race were compared to national rates.Results: A total of 699 pedestrians were involved in motor vehicle crashes in 2014—an ave...
Michigan Gasoline Pricing and the Marathon - Ashland and Ultramar Diamond Shamrock Transaction

Marathon Ashland Petroleum's (MAP) 1999 acquisition of the Michigan assets of Ultramar Diamond Shamrock (UDS) increased MAP's share of terminal storage in Michigan from about 16 percent to about 25 percent and increased the share of gasoline stations bearing a MAP brand from about 16 percent to about 24 percent. In this paper, we examine whether this acquisition affected the retail price of gasoline. We use a difference-in-differences model to compare price movements in six Michigan cities affected by the acquisition with price movements in two nearby cities unaffected by the acquisition. Using this model, we find no evidence that this acquisition led to higher prices for consumers.
Triplet Repeat Disorders

Triplet repeat disorders are a category of disease caused by the lengthening of repetitive DNA sequence elements in particular genes. These unusual sequences, while normal in certain lengths, are prone to errors during DNA replication that result in their expansion. At some threshold length, the expansion causes disease, either by altering the structure of the protein (when the expansions are in coding regions) or by disrupting some unknown regulatory process (when the expansions are outside coding regions). Although the genes involved in these disorders are widely expressed throughout the body, symptoms are usually confined to the nervous system (Huntington's disease and Fragile X) or muscles (myotonic dystrophy).
The strengths and weaknesses of Iran's populist alliance

Between 1905 and 1911 Iran was convulsed by a mass upheaval known as the Constitutional Revolution, the first in a series of complex social movements culminating in the extraordinary revolution of 1979. The ruling Qajar dynasty (1800-1925) was shaken to its roots by a determined coalition of social classes that I designate a "populist alliance." One shah was forced to grant a national assembly (the majlis) and a constitution, and another was compelled to abdicate in favor of his young son. Political life assumed a level of freedom unseen until then in the Middle East, with a proliferation of parties, clubs, newspapers, and popular expressions of resistance to the state and foreign capital in Iran. Initial successes, however, were followed by the fragmentation of the alliance that had initiated the revolution, and capped by the intervention of Tsarist Russian troops in 1911 to prop up the weakened monarchy. The consequences of failure would be grave, as the door was opened for the political disintegration of the country in World War I, followed by the rise to the throne of an untutored cavalry commander named Reza Khan Pahlavi, whose son would gain notoriety as a repressive modernizer after World War II.
Understanding the importance of graduate admissions criteria according to prospective graduate students

Students think that physics graduate admissions criteria of personal statements, prior research experiences, publications, and familiarity with department are significantly more important than do faculty.
Determining the Impact of the Opioid Crisis on a Tertiary-Care Hospital in Central New York to Identify Critical Areas of Intervention in the Local Community.

Background. Central New York has been afflicted by the heroin epidemic with an increase in overdose deaths involving opioids. Objective. The objective of the study was to understand the epidemiology of hospitalizations related to a diagnosis of opioid use (OU). Design. The study was designed as a retrospective analysis of hospitalized patients admitted from January 1, 2008, to December 30, 2018, using ICD-9 and 10 codes for heroin or opiate use, overdose, or poisoning. Setting. The study was conducted in a tertiary-care and teaching hospital located in Central New York. Patients. Hospitalized patients were included as study participants. Results. Opioid use-related admissions increased from .05/100 hospital admissions in 2008 to a peak of 2.9/100 in 2018, a 58-fold increase. There were 49 deaths over the 11-year period for an overall case fatality of 1.2 per 100 OU admissions. The median age for all years was 40 years (SD of 13.7 years), and admissions were largely white caucasians (67.0% of all admissions). The mean length of stay was 8.55 days (SD 12 days), with a range of 1 to 153 days. The most frequent discharge diagnosis was due to infections (15.0% of discharge diagnoses) followed by trauma (5.8% of discharge diagnoses). Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was more common in patients with OU (58.1%) than in patients with non-OU (43%) ( by chi-square with Yates’ correction). Spatial analysis was performed by zip code and demonstrated regional hotspots for OU-related admissions. Limitations. The limitations of this study are its retrospective nature and largely numerator-based analysis. The use of ICD codes underrepresents the true burden due to underreporting and failure to code appropriately. This study focuses on patients who are hospitalized for a medical reason with a secondary diagnosis of opioid use and does not include patients who present to the emergency room with an overdose underrepresenting the true burden of the problem. Conclusions. Our results demonstrate the impact of the opioid epidemic in one tertiary-care center and the need to prepare for the costs and resources to address addiction care for this population.
A rare case of Whipple's disease with endocarditis in a patient with dextrocardia.

We report a case of an elderly Caucasian male with past medical history of dextrocardia with situs inversus totalis, polymyalgia rheumatica, history of cryptogenic stroke, and severe mitral regurgi...
Clinical outcomes following burn injury across the continuum of chronic glycemic control.

Abstract Diabetes has been associated with poor outcomes following burn injury. There is limited data related to prediabetes in burn injury, and no studies to date have compared clinical outcomes inpatients without diabetes, with prediabetes, and with diabetes. Therefore, this study aimed to compare clinical outcomes after burn injury across the continuum of pre-injury glucose control. A propensity score weighted cohort study of adult patients admitted for initial management of burn injury was performed. Patients were categorized as no diabetes, prediabetes or diabetes based on their admission hemoglobin A1c and past medical history. The primary outcome was length of stay per percent Total Body Surface Area (TBSA) burn. Secondary outcome measures included length of stay, all-cause hospital mortality, disposition at discharge, re-grafting of same site, and amputations. A total of 2450 patients were screened; 1137 patients were included for evaluation (236 diabetes, 191 prediabetes, 710 no diabetes). After inverse probability weighing to adjust for potentially confounding factors, patients in the diabetes group had longer length of stay/%TBSA burn than both the no diabetes group (ratio of geometric means (95% CI) = 1.65 (1.25, 2.18), p
Effective synthesis of bicyclodienes via palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation and ruthenium-catalyzed cycloisomerization

[n.3.0]Bicycles (n = 3-6) can be synthesized using palladium-catalyzed asymmetric allylic alkylation followed by ruthenium-catalyzed cycloisomerization. New types of triarylphosphino-1,2-diaminooxazoline ligands show the same high levels of enantioselectivity observed with Trost ligand when employed in Pd-catalyzed allylic alkylation reactions. The enyne products of these allylic alkylation reactions were further elaborated using a Ru-catalyzed redox isomerization process, for which a mechanism is proposed.
Age-related differences in functional tool-use are due to changes in movement quality and not simply motor slowing

Age-related declines in fine motor control may impact tool-use and thereby limit functional independence. Most previous research has, however, focused on the effect of aging on gross motor tasks. Few studies have investigated the effects of aging on the strategy or quality of fine motor skills, especially in tool-use, which may better reflect how age impacts complex movement capability. Twenty-two young (ages 19–35) and 18 older adults (ages 58–87) performed a timed upper extremity task using a tool to acquire and transport objects to different locations. Overall task performance was divided into two phases based on 3-D position of the tool: a gross motor phase (object transport) and a fine motor phase (object acquisition). Overall, older adults took longer to complete the task. A linear model indicated that this was due to the duration of the fine motor phase more so than the gross motor phase. To identify age-related differences in the quality of the fine motor phase, we fit three-dimensional ellipsoids to individual data and the calculated the ellipsoid volume. Results demonstrated a significant volume-by-age interaction, whereby increased ellipsoid volume (space the tool occupied) related to increased mean dwell time for the older adult group only; younger adults did not demonstrate this relationship. Additionally, older adults with longer movement times during the fine motor phase also had lower cognitive scores. No age-related differences were observed for the gross motor phase, suggesting that age-related declines in tool-use may be due to changes in fine motor control and cognitive status.
Characteristics of Provider-Focused Research on Complementary and Integrative Medicine in Palliative Care: A Scoping Review.

Background:The use of complementary and integrative medicine (CIM) continues to grow in palliative care. While research supports the use of many CIM therapies for symptom relief, the scope of provi...
Risky migrations: Race, Latin eugenics, and Cold War development in the International Labor Organization's Puno-Tambopata project in Peru, 1930-60.

Histories of economic development during the Cold War do not typically consider connections to race science and eugenics. By contrast, this article historicizes the debates sparked by the Internati...
Clinical Whole Genome Sequencing for Clarithromycin and Amikacin Resistance Prediction and Subspecies Identification of Mycobacterium abscessus.

Mycobacterium abscessus infections are an emerging health care concern in patients with chronic pulmonary diseases, leading to high morbidity and mortality. One major challenge is resistance to clarithromycin, a cornerstone antibiotic with high efficacy. Therefore, treatment is primarily guided by phenotypic susceptibility results of clarithromycin, which requires extended incubation to assess for inducible resistance. Resistance mechanisms for clarithromycin include induction of erm(41) and mutations in the 23S rRNA gene (rrl). In addition, mutations in the 16S rRNA encoding gene (rrs) can confer high-level amikacin resistance, another essential drug in the treatment of M. abscessus infections. Herein, we developed a clinical whole genome sequencing (WGS) assay for clarithromycin resistance based on rrl and erm(41) gene sequences and amikacin resistance based on the rrs sequence in M. abscessus, as well as subspecies identification. Genotypic-based predictions were determined for 104 isolates from 68 patients. The overall accuracy of genotypic prediction for clarithromycin compared with phenotypic susceptibility results was 100% (95% CI, 96.45%–100%). For amikacin, we also obtained 100% accuracy (95% CI, 96.52%–100%). The high concordance between the genotypic and phenotypic results demonstrates that a WGS-based assay can be used in a clinical laboratory for determining resistance to clarithromycin and amikacin in M. abscessus isolates. WGS can also provide subspecies identification and high-definition phylogenetic information for more accurate M. abscessus strain typing.
A new species of Hyophila (Pottiaceae, Bryophyta), Teniolophora synonymized with Hyophila, and Plaubelia clarified

A new moss species, Hyophila marginata, from Peru is distinctive but intermediate in morphology between H. involuta and the rare West Indian Teniolophora fluviatilis. Teniolophora is synonymized with the earlier name Hyophila. The difference between Hyophila and Plaubelia is clarified with a key, and Quaesticula is synonymized with Plaubelia. New combinations are Hyophila fluviatilis, Plaubelia navicularis and P. stomatodonta.
Sustained UF with Gelatin Dialysis Solution during Long Dwell Dialysis Exchanges in Rats

Two Haemaccel solutions (5.5% and 10%) were developed to contain electrolyte concentrations similar to rat serum. Twenty ml of each solution was studied during long dwell exchanges in nonuremic rats. Commercial Dianeal solutions served as controls.
Steady-state co oxidation kinetics over the Pd(100) single crystal surface and the c(2 × 2)-Sn/Pd(100) bimetallic surface alloy

The kinetic rates for CO oxidation have been measured on the surface of Pd(100) surface and the c(2 × 2)-Sn/Pd(100) surface alloy (ΘSn = 0.5 ML) in a high pressure/ultra-high vacuum surface analysis chamber over the temperature range of 443–673 K and the pressure range of 0.3–108 Torr. An Arrhenius activation energy of 22 kcal/mole was measured for CO oxidation at the Pd(100) single crystal surface. Furthermore, the reaction order for the CO was found to decrease from -0.2 to -0.9 as the pressure was lowered from 16 to 1 Torr CO (PO2 = 8 Tort), and the O2 reaction order was found to increase from 0.6 to 1.0 at CO pressures of 16 and 1 Torr, respectively. These observations are in agreement with those previously reported for supported Pd/SiO2 catalysts (Cant et al., J. Catal. 54, 372 (1978)). These changes are attributed to the dramatic variation in heat of adsorption seen on the Pd(100) surface (34 to less than 20 kcal/mole at saturation coverage (nonlinear function)). The kinetic behavior of the c(2 × 2)-Sn/Pd(100) bimetallic surface alloy was similarly studied and the activation energy for the CO oxidation reaction was found to be 12 kcal/mole. The c(2 × 2)-Sn/Pd(100) surface alloy was ascertained to have catalytic reaction orders for CO and O2 of 0.2 and 0.1, respectively. This is attributed to an increase in the oxygen surface coverage in the form of SnOx(x = 1–2) atop the Pd(100) template. Possible roles that the SnOx plays in accelerating this reaction are suggested. The surfaces were also characterized by Auger electron spectroscopy (AES), low energy electron diffraction (LEED), and thermal desorption mass spectroscopy (TDMS) prior to and following high pressure catalytic reactions.
Characterization of the Piezoelectric Properties of Pb0.98Ba0.02(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 Epitaxial Thin Films

Pb(Mg1/3Nb2/3)O3–PbTiO3 (PMN–PT) (70/30) thin films were deposited by pulsed laser deposition using two growth strategies: adsorption controlled deposition from lead-rich targets (∼25–30 mass%) and lower-temperature deposition (Td≤600°C) from targets containing a small amount of excess lead oxide (≤3 mass %). The substrates used were (001) SrRuO3/LaAlO3. Typical remanent polarization values ranged between 12 and 14 μC/cm2 for these films. The longitudinal piezoelectric coefficient (d33,f) was measured using in situ four-circle X-ray diffraction, and the transverse coefficient (d31,f or e31,f) was measured using the wafer flexure method. d33,f and e31,f coefficients of ∼300–350 pm/V and ∼−11 C/m2 were calculated, respectively. In general, the piezoelectric coefficients and aging rates were strongly asymmetric, suggesting the presence of a polarization bias. The large, extremely stable piezoelectric response that results from poling parallel to the preferred polarization direction is attractive for miniaturized sensors and actuators.