cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Access to care, nativity and disease management among Latinos with diabetes in a safety-net healthcare setting.

Introduction: Latinos in the U.S. are disproportionately affected by diabetes and its complications. The role of access to care and nativity in diabetes management are important areas of research, as these findings can help direct tailored interventions. Methods: We examined associations between access to care, acculturation and glycemic control among Latino patients with diabetes seen in a safety net emergency department. We used regression models to estimate the individual predictors’ associations with glycemic control and then estimated adjusted associations by controlling for all relevant predictors. We tested for a moderating role of nativity in the associations between access to care and glycemic control. Results: In unadjusted analysis, we found the most significant predictors of glycemic control to be access to primary care (β = −0.89, p = 0.011), capacity for self-monitoring glucose (β = −0.68, p = 0.022), mental health comorbidities (β = 0.95, p = 0.013), male gender (β = − 0.49, p = 0.091) and nativity (β = −0.81, p = 0.034). In adjusted analysis, nativity was no longer a significant predictor of glycemic control (β = −0.32, p = 0.541). Nativity did not significantly moderate the association of access to care and glycemic control. Conclusions: Our findings show a direct association between access to care and glycemic control among low-income Latinos seeking care in the emergency department. This supports concerns that many researchers, clinicians and policy analysts have expressed regarding access to care for immigrants. The importance of primary care and access to supplies to perform self-management in achieving glycemic control and reducing risk of complications indicate that ensuring access to quality care is critical to the health of this vulnerable group.
A Bayesian deep learning framework for interval estimation of remaining useful life in complex systems by incorporating general degradation characteristics

Deep learning has emerged as a powerful tool to model complicated relationships between inputs and outputs in various fields including degradation modeling and prognostics. Existing deep learning-b...
A Case of an Aggressive Intraosseous Arteriovenous Malformation in the Lower Extremity: Special Considerations for Diagnosis and Management.

Background:Arteriovenous malformations (AVMs) are rare, congenital vascular anomalies. Intraosseous AVMS most frequently arise in the head and neck, with only a small fraction occurring in the extr...
Static Magnetic Fields within Spinal Interbody Cages for the Promotion of Spinal Arthrodesis: A Pilot Study.

Background Spinal arthrodesis is a commonly performed spinal operation. Spinal arthrodesis can be complicated by pseudoarthrosis and resultant hardware failure. Static magnetic fields (SMF) have the ability to improve bone fusion. We seek to assess the feasibility of the construction and implantation of a lumbar interbody cage equipped with a SMF in a caprine model. Methods Six skeletally mature female Boer goats underwent a lateral approach for placement of an interbody graft at lumbar (L) 1-2 and 3-4. The goats were divided into 2 groups of 3 animals. The interbody graft contained a neodymium iron boron magnet in the experimental group and a nonmagnetic titanium sham in the control group. Both groups contained a synthetic bone graft. Blinded radiographic and histologic evaluation was performed at predetermined timepoints to assess degree of bony fusion and osseointegration. Results All 6 goats underwent successful placement of lumbar interbody grafts. At the 1-month postoperative computed tomography, 1 goat in the experimental group and 1 goat in the control group were noted to have dislodged their intervertebral cage. Qualitative radiographic and histologic evaluation identified enhanced bone formation, bone density, and osteointegration of the graft in the experimental group. Conclusions A spinal interbody cage containing a neodymium iron boron magnet for the production of a local SMF is feasible. Preliminary data suggests enhanced bone formation, bone density, and osseointegration of the graft.
Stimulation-Induced Differential Redistributions of Clathrin and Clathrin-Coated Vesicles in Axons Compared to Soma/Dendrites

Clathrin-mediated endocytosis plays an important role in the recycling of synaptic vesicle in presynaptic terminals, and in the recycling of transmitter receptors in neuronal soma/dendrites. The present study uses electron microscopy (EM) and immunogold EM to document the different categories of clathrin-coated vesicles (CCV) and pits (CCP) in axons compared to soma/dendrites, and the depolarization-induced redistribution of clathrin in these two polarized compartments of the neuron. The size of CCVs in presynaptic terminals (~ 40 nm; similar to the size of synaptic vesicles) is considerably smaller than the size of CCVs in soma/dendrites (~ 90 nm). Furthermore, neuronal stimulation induces an increase in the number of CCV/CCP in presynaptic terminals, but a decrease in soma/dendrites. Immunogold labeling of clathrin revealed that in presynaptic terminals under resting conditions, the majority of clathrin molecules are unassembled and concentrated outside of synaptic vesicle clusters. Upon depolarization with high K+, label for clathrin became scattered among de-clustered synaptic vesicles and moved closer to the presynaptic active zone. In contrast to axons, clathrin-labeled CCVs and CCPs were prominent in soma/dendrites under resting conditions, and became inconspicuous upon depolarization with high K+. Thus, EM examination suggests that the regulation and mechanism of clathrin-mediated endocytosis differ between axon and dendrite, and that clathrin redistributes differently in these two neuronal compartments upon depolarization.
COVID-19 and Opioid Use in Appalachian Kentucky: Challenges and Silver Linings

Appalachian Kentucky is currently fighting two public health emergencies-COVID-19 and the opioid epidemic-leaving the area strapped for resources to care for these ongoing crises. During this time, people who use opioids (PWUO) have increased vulnerability to fatal overdoses and drug-related harms (e.g., HIV). Disruption of already limited services posed by COVID-19 could have an especially detrimental impact on the health of PWUO. Though the COVID-19 pandemic is jeopardizing hard-won progress in fighting the opioid epidemic, innovations in state policy and service delivery brought about by the pandemic may improve the health of PWUO long-term if they are retained.
MIS-C and Cardiac Conduction Abnormalities

OBJECTIVES: Multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children (MIS-C) has spread through the pediatric population during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. Our objective for the study was to report the prevalence of conduction anomalies in MIS-C and identify predictive factors for the conduction abnormalities. METHODS: We performed a single-center retrospective cohort study of pediatric patients RESULTS: Thirty-two patients met inclusion criteria. Median age at admission was 9 years. Six of 32 patients (19%) were found to have first-degree AVB, with a median longest PR interval of 225 milliseconds (interquartile range 200–302), compared with 140 milliseconds (interquartile range 80–178) in patients without first-degree AVB. The onset of AVB occurred at a median of 8 days after the initial symptoms and returned to normal 3 days thereafter. No patients developed advanced AVB, although 1 patient developed a PR interval >300 milliseconds. Another patient developed new-onset right bundle branch block, which resolved during hospitalization. Cardiac enzymes, inflammatory markers, and cardiac function were not associated with AVB development. CONCLUSIONS: In our population, there is a 19% prevalence of first-degree AVB in patients with MIS-C. All patients with a prolonged PR interval recovered without progression to high-degree AVB. Patients admitted with MIS-C require close electrocardiogram monitoring during the acute phase.
Determining causal genes from GWAS signals using topologically associating domains

Background: Genome wide association studies (GWAS) have contributed significantly to the field of complex disease genetics. However, GWAS only report signals associated with a given trait and do not necessarily identify the precise location of culprit genes. As most association signals occur in non-coding regions of the genome, it is often challenging to assign genomic variants to the underlying causal mechanism(s). Topologically associating domains (TADs) are primarily cell-type independent genomic regions that define interactome boundaries and can aid in the designation of limits within which a GWAS locus most likely impacts gene function. Results: We describe and validate a computational method that uses the genic content of TADs to assign GWAS signals to likely causal genes. Our method, called "TAD_Pathways", performs a Gene Ontology (GO) analysis over all genes that reside within the boundaries of all TADs corresponding to the GWAS signals for a given trait or disease. We applied our pipeline to the GWAS catalog entries associated with bone mineral density (BMD), identifying 9Skeletal System Development9 (Benjamini-Hochberg adjusted p = 1.02x10-5) as the top ranked pathway. Often, the causal gene identified at a given locus was well known and/or the nearest gene to the sentinel SNP. In other cases, our method implicated a gene further away. Our molecular experiments describe a novel example: ACP2, implicated at the canonical 9ARHGAP19 locus. We found ACP2 to be an important regulator of osteoblast metabolism, whereas a causal role of ARHGAP1 was not supported. Conclusions: Our results demonstrate how basic principles of three-dimensional genome organization can help define biologically informed windows of signal association. We anticipate that incorporating TADs will aid in refining and improving the performance of a variety of algorithms that linearly interpret genomic content.
Lessons learned from 20 years of CBE’s occupant surveys

Buildings influence diverse factors (e.g. health, wellbeing, productivity, and social connection). Occupants’ direct experiences with their indoor environments allow them to determine whether those spaces support or hinder the activities performed. However, most post-occupancy evaluations (POEs) focus solely on measuring people’s levels of comfort and environmental satisfaction. With increasing attention and interest in occupant health and wellness, there is a need to reassess whether occupant surveys are evaluating all they need to. An analysis is presented of data collected from a widely used online POE tool: The Center for the Built Environment’s (CBE) Occupant Survey (more than 90,000 respondents from approximately 900 buildings) in order to summarise its database and evaluate the survey’s structure and benchmarking metrics. A total of 68% of the respondents are satisfied with their workspace. Satisfaction is highest with spaces’ ease of interaction (75% satisfied), amount of light (74%), and cleanliness (71%). Dissatisfaction is highest with sound privacy (54% dissatisfied), temperature (39%), and noise level (34%). Correlation, principal component, and hierarchical clustering analyses identified seven distinct categories of measurement within the 16 satisfaction items. Results also revealed that a reduction in the scale may be possible. Based on these results, potential improvements and new directions are discussed for the future of POE tools. Practice relevance Assessing the measurement properties in a widely used occupant satisfaction survey reveals what is still useful to include and what may be missing from occupant surveys. These insights are increasingly important as built-environment research evolves and an increasing emphasis is placed on the physical and mental wellbeing of occupants and their productivity. Typical occupant satisfaction rates are reported for indoor environmental quality parameters and benchmark values. These can be used as references by practitioners and other survey tools. Based on this analysis, recommendations are made for different clustering and themes of measurement categories, along with the scope of additional questions that can be posed to occupants.
Protection of the prodomain 1-helix correlates with latency in the transforming growth factor- family

The 33 members of the transforming growth factor beta (TGF-{beta}) family are fundamentally important for organismal development and homeostasis. Family members are synthesized and secreted as pro-complexes of prodomains that are non-covalently bound to the growth factor (GF). The pro-complexes of some members are latent and require activation steps to release the GF for signaling. Why some members are latent while others are non-latent is incompletely understood, but crystal structures and hydrogen-deuterium exchange (HDX) of four family members have begun to unravel how latency is regulated. Here, we extend this understanding by comparing pro-complex conformation in negative stain EM (nsEM) and HDX of ActA, BMP7, BMP9, BMP10, GDF8, TGF-{beta}1, and TGF-{beta}2. nsEM revealed that family members varied in either adopting cross-armed, open-armed, or V-armed configurations. Latency was achieved in both cross-armed and V-armed but not open-armed conformations. HDX revealed remarkably varying patterns of exchange between family members, consistent with large prodomain sequence divergence. We observed a strong correlation between latency and protection of the prodomain 1-helix from exchange, which in latent members coincided with greater buried surface area of the 1-helix and more hydrogen and cation-pi bonds from the prodomain fastener and GF to the 1-helix. Strong sequence conservation of the 1-helix and fastener only in latent members suggests that similar interactions are conserved and sufficient to confer latency. Moreover, most members exhibited rapid exchange in the unstructured "association region" at the prodomain N-terminus, highlighting their availability for interacting with factors that may regulate latency and extracellular storage.
Numerical Analysis of Time Resolved Photoluminescence for Alumina/Cd(Se,Te) Double Heterostructures

Al 2 O 3 has demonstrated excellent Cd(Se,Te) surface passivation. In this work, recombination mechanisms were investigated by comparing simulations of time resolved photoluminescence (TRPL) to PL decay data (320 ns effective lifetime) for Al 2 O 3 /Cd(Se,Te)/Al 2 O 3 double heterostructures. Models were employed to investigate the effects of bulk and surface recombination, electric fields, mobility, and doping by simulating intensity-dependent single- (1PE) and two-photon excitation (2PE) TRPL. 2PE simulations replicate decay behavior while 1PE simulations require attention to charge redistribution. Various coupled mechanisms cannot be distinguished from PL decay data alone. Complementary measurements are required to constrain the model parameters and isolate mechanisms.
Cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use during the third trimester of pregnancy in a national sample of heterosexual and sexual minority women

Background and objectives Research investigating e-cigarettes/e-products and dual use with cigarettes among pregnant sexual minority individuals in the United States is lacking. This study addresses this gap using a national sample. Methods Two waves of national panel data (2015-2018) from the Population Assessment of Tobacco and Health study were used. The sample included 1842 women, 237 identified as sexual minorities (n = 17 lesbian, n = 177 bisexual, n = 43 something else), who indicated pregnancy during the past 12 months at Waves 3 or 4. Covariates included race, ethnicity, past-year income, and education. Cigarette, e-cigarette, or dual use was examined during the last trimester. Results Sexual minorities had higher adjusted odds of cigarette use during their last trimester of pregnancy relative to heterosexual women (adjusted odds ratio [AOR] = 1.55, 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.08, 2.23). Bisexual women had higher odds of smoking cigarettes during their third trimester compared with heterosexual women (AOR = 1.82, 95% CI = 1.21, 2.72). Lesbian women were more likely to use e-cigarettes/e-products (AOR = 9.15, 95% CI = 2.29, 36.5) and indicate dual use (AOR = 6.00, 95% CI = 1.43, 25.1) during their third trimester of pregnancy compared with heterosexual women. Conclusion and scientific significance Maternal health among US sexual minority women would benefit from clinicians equipped to provide accurate information and support for Food and Drug Administration-approved smoking cessation, information about e-cigarettes/e-products, and dual use. This study is the first to examine cigarette, e-cigarette, and dual use during the third trimester of pregnancy using a national sample, with specific attention to differences in sexual orientation.
Malonyl-CoA and AMP-activated protein kinase: An expanding partnership

Insulin resistance in skeletal muscle is present in humans with type 2 diabetes (noninsulin-dependent diabetes mellitus) and obesity and in rodents with these disorders. Malonyl CoA is a regulator of carnitine palmitoyl transferase I (CPT I), the enzyme that controls the transfer of long chain fatty acyl CoA into mitochondria where it is oxidized. In rat skeletal muscle, the formation of malonyl CoA is regulated acutely (in minutes) by changes in the activity of acetyl CoA carboxylase (ACC), the enzyme that catalyzes malonyl CoA synthesis. ACC activity can be regulated by changes in the concentration of citrate which is both an allosteric activator of ACC and a source of its precursor, cytosolic acetyl CoA. Increases in cytosolic citrate leading to an increase in the concentration of malonyl CoA occur when muscle is presented with insulin and glucose, or when it is made inactive by denervation. In contrast, exercise lowers the concentration of malonyl CoA, by activating an AMP activated protein kinase (AMPK), which phosphorylates and inhibits ACC. Recently we have shown that the activity of malonyl CoA decarboxylase (MCD), an enzyme that degrades malonyl CoA, is also regulated by phosphorylation. The concentration of malonyl CoA in liver and muscle in certain circumstances correlates inversely with changes in MCD activity. This review will describe the current literature on the regulation of malonyl CoA/AMPK mechanism and its physiological function.
Link dimensioning and LSP optimization for MPLS networks supporting diffserv EF and BE traffic classes

Capacity planning is indispensable for future Internet providing QoS. Accurate dimensioning is especially important when no per-flow signaling or control exists. In this paper, we address the problem of link dimensioning and Lable Switching Path (LSP) optimization for MPLS networks supporting DiffServ EF and BE traffic classes. The problem is formulated as an optimization problem, where the goal is to minimize the nonlinear total link cost, subject to the performance constraints of both expedited forward (EF) and best effort (BE) traffic classes. The variables to be determined are the routing of LSPs carrying both EF and BE traffic, and the discrete capacities of the links. We show that Lagrangean Relaxation and subgradient optimization methods can be used to effectively solve this difficult problem. Computational results show that the solution quality is verifiably good, while the running time remains reasonable on practical-sized networks. This is the first work on capacity planning for MPLS networks supporting multiple DiffServ service classes.
Exceedances of the National Ambient Air Quality Standard for Ozone Occurring at a “Pristine” Area Site

The authors present ozone measurements for high elevation pristine area sites in the Mt. Mitchell, North Carolina State Park located in the southeastern United States. These data have been collected as part of an on-going project, one of the goals of which is to assess rural ozone exposure. They may also provide insight into those processes which affect rural ozone levels, and perhaps might guide policy makers in developing strategies for rural ozone control.
Comparison of clinical features in patients with eosinophilic esophagitis living in an urban and rural environment

Summary Eosinophilic esophagitis (EoE) has been associated with exposure to aeroallergens. Living in different locations (urban vs. rural) could potentially expose individuals to different environmental factors. Currently, there is limited data on the matter, and all was based on small population studies that did not exclude proton pump inhibitor (PPI)-responsive esophageal eosinophilia in their cohort. The primary aim of this study was to determine the prevalence of EoE in an urban versus rural population and compare demographic and clinical characteristics in patients that had been treated with high-dose PPI prior to diagnosis. Esophageal biopsies were obtained from a cohort of patients who presented with symptoms of dysphagia, odynophagia, globus sensation, and heartburn during a 10-year period. Only patients who had biopsies from the mid and distal esophagus with ≥20 eosinophils per high-power field while on high-dose PPI treatment during endoscopy were included. Urban population was defined as >1000 people/square mile, and rural population was defined as ≤1000 people/square mile (U.S. Census Bureau). Demographic data from each group was analyzed for age, sex, body mass index, duration of symptoms, and tobacco use. Chi-square analysis was used for frequencies with statistical significance defined as P ≤ 0.05. A total of 20 718 patients were identified and their records evaluated. From this cohort, 57 (0.28%) symptomatic patients (male/female: 39/18, mean age = 29.5 years) had biopsy-proven EoE (≥20 eosinophils/hpf) while on PPI treatment. Of those EoE patients, 29 (50.9%) reported living in rural area versus 28 (49.1%) living in the urban area. The most common medical history components included asthma (12.3%), and the most common presenting symptoms included dysphagia (50.9%), heartburn (26.3%), and nausea/vomiting (22.8%). The average duration of symptoms, body mass index, and smoking habits did not differ between the groups. Dysphagia was significantly more prevalent in the urban population (37.9% vs. 64.3% P = 0.047), while heartburn and reflux were more prevalent in the rural population (37.9% vs. 14.3 P = 0.043). Asthma was prevalent in both populations without a significant difference (P = not significant). There is no residential variation in the incidence of EoE among patients with non-PPI-responsive esophageal eosinophilia. Dysphagia was more prevalent in the urban population, while heartburn and reflux symptoms were more prevalent in the rural environment. Further exploration of environmental factors and specific allergens may help explain the varying symptoms and causes of EoE.
Design schemes of space-time block codes concatenated with turbo codes

Higher transmission rate and reliable communication over fading channels are major research pursuits of current wireless communications. The space-time block codes (STBC) have been introduced to improve those research goals by simple processing algorithms at the transmitter and the receiver ends. STBC designs with the help of an orthogonal design method are described. The STBC designed in a quasi-orthogonal method is focused on keeping the higher transmission rate at the cost of the diversity gain. On the other hand, STBC designed in complex orthogonal methods emphasize the high diversity gain rather than the rate. Design schemes of turbo concatenation to STBC using various methods are introduced and detailed performance analyses are provided.
Developmental changes in analytic and holistic processes in face perception

Although infants demonstrate sensitivity to some kinds of perceptual information in faces, many face capacities continue to develop throughout childhood. One debate is the degree to which children perceive faces analytically versus holistically and how these processes undergo developmental change. In the present study, school-aged children and adults performed a perceptual matching task with upright and inverted face and house pairs that varied in similarity of featural or 2nd order configural information. Holistic processing was operationalized as the degree of serial processing when discriminating faces and houses (i.e., increased reaction time, RT, as more features or spacing relations were shared between stimuli). Analytical processing was operationalized as the degree of parallel processing (or no change in reaction time as a function of greater similarity of features or spatial relations). Adults showed the most evidence for holistic processing (most strongly for 2nd order faces) and holistic processing was weaker for inverted faces and houses. Younger children (6-8 years), in contrast, showed analytical processing across all experimental manipulations. Older children (9-11 years) showed an intermediate pattern with a trend toward holistic processing of 2nd order faces like adults, but parallel processing in other experimental conditions like younger children. These findings indicate that holistic face representations emerge around 10 years of age. In adults both 2nd order and featural information are incorporated into holistic representations, whereas older children only incorporate 2nd order information. Holistic processing was not evident in younger children. Hence, the development of holistic face representations relies on 2nd order processing initially then incorporates featural information by adulthood.
"Take! Take! Take!" Host-Guest Relations and All that Food: Uzbek Hospitality Past and Present

Russell Zanca, Northeastern Illinois University © 2003 Russel Zanca All Rights Reserved The copyright for individual articles in both the print and online version of the Anthropology of East Europe Review is retained by the individual authors. They reserve all rights other than those stated here. Please contact the managing editor for details on contacting these authors. Permission is granted for reproducing these articles for scholarly and classroom use as long as only the cost of reproduction is charged to the students. Commercial reproduction of these articles requires the permission of the authors.
Na+, K+, and H+/HCO3− Transport in Submandibular Salivary Ducts: MEMBRANE LOCALIZATION OF TRANSPORTERS

The mechanisms mediating transepithelial ion transport in salivary ducts were characterized and localized by studying the regulation of [Na+]i, [K+]i, and pHi in isolated intralobular ducts and perfused main ducts of the submandibular salivary gland. A new procedure was developed for the rapid preparation of intralobular ducts. Measurements of pHi revealed the presence of Na+/H+ and Cl-/HCO3- exchange activities in intralobular duct cells. We could not obtain evidence for a coupled K+/H+ exchange activity which was postulated to exist in the luminal membrane of duct cells. Rather, a Kout+-dependent pathway which mediates the transport of H+/HCO3- and Na+ was found. This pathway was absent from acinar cells of the same gland and was active in unstimulated duct cells incubated in 5mM Kout+. Accordingly, inhibition of the Na+ pump with ouabain resulted in rapid and large Na+ influx in duct but not acinar cells. Perfusion experiments with the experimentally accessible main duct and measurements of pHi were used to provide the first direct localization of ion transporters in salivary ducts. The luminal and basolateral membranes of the duct express separate Na+/N+ and Cl-/HCO3- exchangers. Na+/H+ exchange activity in both membranes was similar, whereas the luminal Cl-/HCO3- exchange activity was higher than that in the basolateral membrane. The perfused main dust was also used to localize the newly discovered Kout(+)-dependent H+/HCO3- and Na+ transport pathway to the luminal membrane, which suggests that this pathway may play an important role in Na+ reabsorption of K+ and HCO3- secretion by the salivary ductal system.
Beyond the Pale: White Americans' Conditional Response to the Norm of Racial Equality

Most political scientists argue that explicit racial appeals are no longer effective in contemporary American politics. According to this view, such messages are rejected because they are perceived as violating the almost universally accepted norm of racial equality. I reexamine this question with an experimental design, embedded in a nationally representative Internet survey in which respondents were randomly assigned to one of eight treatments. The race of the messenger (black or white) and the type of appeal were manipulated, depending on treatment condition. Contrary to the conventional wisdom, I argue that explicit racial appeals are not necessarily counterproductive, as black candidates who use explicit appeals generate more support among racial conservatives relative to black candidates who use implicit appeals. The results also suggest that White Americans' response to the norm of equality is contingent on the race of the messenger. That is, when the messenger is also white, respondents are more likely to reject the appeal, but when the messenger is black (with an identical message), they do not find the message offensive. Since previous research related to the implicit and explicit racial appeals has typically focused on white messengers, to date we have been unable to detect that the rejection of explicit appeals is moderated by the race of the messenger.
Social scaffolding of human amygdala-mPFCcircuit development

Strong evidence indicates that reciprocal connections between the amygdala and the medial prefrontal cortex (mPFC) support fundamental aspects of emotional behavior in adulthood. However, this circuitry is slow to develop in humans, exhibiting immaturity in childhood. The argument is made that the development of this circuitry in humans is intimately associated with caregiving, such that parental availability during childhood provides important and enduring scaffolding of neuroaffective processes that ultimately form of the nature of the adult phenotype.
A Movable Feast: THE COLUMBIAN EXCHANGE AND THE OLD WORLDS

And the trees are as different from ours as day from night; and also the fruits, and grasses and stones and everything. Christopher Columbus EUROPE The seventeenth and eighteenth centuries marked the maximum extension of that episode of glacial expansion we call the Little Ice Age, when growing seasons were shortened by several weeks and altitudes at which crops could grow were reduced. At the same time Europeans, having recovered from the devastation of the Black Plague, were once more increasing in numbers and in need of extra calories. It was at this point that the American foods, whose earlier adoptions had been scattered and spasmodic, began to achieve widespread acceptance. A good question is why it took Europeans so long to embrace the American crops. They promised more calories and some, like maize and potatoes, had significant advantages over Old World counterparts. Illustrative are potatoes. In that swath from the North Sea to the Ural Mountains, rye, although temperamental in the face of cold winters and rainy summers, was the only Old World grain that did at all well. But potatoes thrived in such a climate – very like their native environment – and could produce some four times more calories per acre than rye. Moreover, potato crops matured in three or four months, whereas rye and other grains required ten months. Potatoes could be planted on fields fallowed for future rye cultivation, and left in the ground to be dug up when needed.
POTASSIUM LEAK TEST PREDICTS OUTCOME IN INTERSTITIAL CYSTITIS

AbstractPurpose: We tested whether the potassium leak test predicts the outcome of therapy with heparinoids and antidepressants in interstitial cystitis.Materials and Methods: We retrospectively reviewed the records of 38 evaluable patients with interstitial cystitis who underwent a potassium leak test at the initial evaluation and who were treated intravesically with heparin or oral sodium pentosan polysulfate for a minimum of 6 months. All but 1 patient were also treated with tricyclic antidepressants. Changes in average pain score during voiding, urinary frequency and nocturia were evaluated.Results: The potassium leak test was positive and negative in 23 and 15 patients, respectively. There was no significant difference in the 2 groups at baseline in regard to the male-to-female ratio, patient age, years of symptoms, pain score, urinary frequency, nocturia or anesthetic capacity. After a minimum of 6 months of therapy patients in whom the potassium leak test was positive were more likely to have impro...
Gyration-radius dynamics in structural transitions of atomic clusters.

This paper is concerned with the structural transition dynamics of the six-atom Morse cluster with zero total angular momentum, which serves as an illustrative example of the general reaction dynamics of isolated polyatomic molecules. It develops a methodology that highlights the interplay between the effects of the potential energy topography and those of the intrinsic geometry of the molecular internal space. The method focuses on the dynamics of three coarse variables, the molecular gyration radii. By using the framework of geometric mechanics and hyperspherical coordinates, the internal motions of a molecule are described in terms of these three gyration radii and hyperangular modes. The gyration radii serve as slow collective variables, while the remaining hyperangular modes serve as rapidly oscillating “bath” modes. Internal equations of motion reveal that the gyration radii are subject to two different kinds of forces: One is the ordinary force that originates from the potential energy function of the system, while the other is an internal centrifugal force. The latter originates from the dynamical coupling of the gyration radii with the hyperangular modes. The effects of these two forces often counteract each other: The potential force generally works to keep the internal mass distribution of the system compact and symmetric, while the internal centrifugal force works to inflate and elongate it. Averaged fields of these two forces are calculated numerically along a reaction path for the structural transition of the molecule in the three-dimensional space of gyration radii. By integrating the sum of these two force fields along the reaction path, an effective energy curve is deduced, which quantifies the gross work necessary for the system to change its mass distribution along the reaction path. This effective energy curve elucidates the energy-dependent switching of the structural preference between symmetric and asymmetric conformations. The present methodology should be of wide use for the systematic reduction of dimensionality as well as for the identification of kinematic barriers associated with the rearrangement of mass distribution in a variety of molecular reaction dynamics in vacuum.
Predominantly buried residues in the response regulator Spo0F influence specific sensor kinase recognition

Several alanine mutations in the response regulator Spo0F induce hypersporulation in Bacillus subtilis. L66A, I90A and H101A mutants are purported to be involved in contacts stabilizing the orientation of the α4-helix and hence the β4–α4 kinase recognition loop. Y13A is thought to affect the orientation of the α1-helix and consequently phosphatase action. Using comparative NMR chemical shift analyses for these mutants, we have confirmed these suppositions and isolated residues in Spo0F critical in sensor kinases discrimination. In addition, we discuss how buried residues and intra-protein communication networks contribute to precise molecular recognition by ensuring that the correct surface is presented.
Black hole evaporation and higher-derivative gravity

We examine the role which higher-derivative gravity interactions may play in black hole evaporation. The thermodynamic properties of black holes in Lovelock gravity are described. In certain cases, the specific heat of a black hole becomes positive at a small mass. This results in an infinite lifetime for the black hole (and also allows it to achieve stable equilibrium with a thermal environment). Thus no conflict with unitary time evolution would arise in such theories.
Enhancing search applications by utilizing mind maps

In this paper we present how sharing and utilizing mind maps could enhance search applications such as document search engines and recommender systems. In addition, we briefly present the first research results which indicate that mind maps can be used to determine document relatedness and therefore can enhance document recommender systems. We also discuss some challenges that information retrieval on mind maps will probably have to overcome.
On Possible Plume-Guided Seismic Waves

Abstract Hypothetical thermal plumes in the Earth’s mantle are expected to have low seismic-wave speeds and thus would support the propagation of guided elastic waves analogous to fault-zone guided seismic waves, fiber-optic waves, and acoustic waves in the oceanic SOund Fixing And Ranging channel. Plume-guided waves would be insensitive to geometric complexities in the wave guide, and their dispersion would make them distinctive on seismograms and would provide information about wave-guide structure that would complement seismic tomography. Detecting such waves would constitute strong evidence of a new kind for the existence of plumes. A cylindrical channel embedded in an infinite medium supports two classes of axially symmetric elastic-wave modes, torsional and longitudinal-radial. Torsional modes have rectilinear particle motion tangent to the cylinder surface. Longitudinal-radial modes have elliptical particle motion in planes that include the cylinder axis, with retrograde motion near the axis. The direction of elliptical particle motion reverses with distance from the axis: once for the fundamental mode, twice for the first overtone, and so on. Each mode exists only above its cut-off frequency, where the phase and group speeds equal the shear-wave speed in the infinite medium. At high frequencies, both speeds approach the shear-wave speed in the channel. All modes have minima in their group speeds, which produce Airy phases on seismograms. For shear wave–speed contrasts of a few percent, thought to be realistic for thermal plumes in the Earth, the largest signals are inversely dispersed and have dominant frequencies of about 0.1–1 Hz and durations of 15–30 sec. There are at least two possible sources of observable plume waves: (1) the intersection of mantle plumes with high-amplitude core-phase caustics in the deep mantle; and (2) ScS -like reflection at the core-mantle boundary of downward-propagating guided waves. The widespread recent deployment of broadband seismometers makes searching for these waves possible.
Guide for perplexed liberals: Second installment

Imagine that you are a liberal not necessarily one in the popular, media sense in which, supposedly, Ted Kennedy and Harry Blackmun are liberals but Jesse Helms and Robert Bork are not; instead, you are a liberal in the rather vague, habitual, and reflex sense in which many Americans, perhaps even Senator Helms and Judge Bork, qualify. That is, you would think that promoting and protecting some favored list of individual freedoms is an important task of government the preeminent one. You would, all things considered, be well disposed to some form of constitutional democracy. You might endorse, in some version or other, a concept such as that of "intrinsic human worth," human autonomy, self-determination, or "individual effort and accomplishment"; if so, you would likely believe that some such value should be accorded appropriate public respect and support. You probably would favor, in principle, some idea of public equality at least in the form of universal suffrage, legal impartiality, or the importance of a general public policy of the government's attempting to avoid favoritism in its dealing with its citizens. You might well also think that the idea of fairness enshrined in the slogan of "equal opportunity" is sufficiently important that some public attempt to promote and protect it is in order. Most Americans, I conjecture, never experience the impulse to probe or to question their "liberalism" in this sense. When it comes to the hurly-burly or real-world politics voting, developing views about particular pubic issues, adopting causes, joining associations, making contributions, and so on the rather nebulous commitments that I have described combine, for most of
Building the Rule of International Criminal Law: The Role of Judges and Prosecutors in the Apprehension of War Criminals

International criminal tribunals are weak institutions, especially since they do not have their own police forces to execute arrest warrants. Understandably then, much of the existing literature has focused exclusively on pressure from major powers and on changing domestic politics to explain the apprehension of suspected war criminals. In contrast, this article turns attention back to the tribunals themselves. I propose three ways in which the activities of international criminal tribunals impact compliance with arrest warrants: through the selection of individuals to indict, demonstrated leniency on some suspects and outreach to domestic legal professionals. Using a duration model that accounts for sample selection and data collected on the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia and the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda, I test these theories alongside other existing explanations. I find that court activities can have an independent effect on the successful implementation of international criminal law.
Theoretical studies of Electronic Structures and Optical Absorptions of Encapsulated Guest Alkali Metal Atoms in ITQ-4 Zeolite

An ab-initio study of the electronic structures and optical absorption spectrum of the guest Cs and Na atoms absorbed in the pure silica ITQ-4 zeolite channels was carried out using density functional theory (DFT) and plane wave basis. Completely different geometries were found for doped Cs and Na in the channels. For Cs doping, a zig-zag chain was formed along the channel and a metallic band structure was obtained. However, a dimer structure around the channel center was found for Na doping and a narrow band gap semiconductor was observed for this system. Correspondingly, the calculated optical absorption spectrum also showed distinctive characters for Cs and Na dopings. Our theoretical results for Cs doping are compared with experimental measurements and previous DFT calculation with local orbital basis; better agreement with experiments has been reached than the previous calculation. For the Na doping, our theoretical predictions need to be confirmed by future experiments.
Collaborative filtering to improve navigation of large radiology knowledge resources.

Objective. Collaborative filtering is a knowledge-discovery technique that can help guide readers to items of potential interest based on the experience of prior users. This study sought to determine the impact of collaborative filtering on navigation of a large, Web-based radiology knowledge resource. Materials and Methods. Collaborative filtering was applied to a collection of 1,168 radiology hypertext documents available via the Internet. An item-based collaborative filtering algorithm identified each document’s six most closely related documents based on 248,304 page views in an 18-day period. Documents were amended to include links to their related documents, and use was analyzed over the next 5 days. Results. The mean number of documents viewed per visit increased from 1.57 to 1.74 (P < 0.0001). Conclusions. Collaborative filtering can increase a radiology information resource’s utilization and can improve its usefulness and ease of navigation. The technique holds promise for improving navigation of large Internet-based radiology knowledge resources.
Adaptive Filterng of Evoked Potentials

We present an adaptive filtering (AF) technique for rapid processing of evoked potentials (EP). The AF algorithm minimizes the mean-square error (MSE) between successive ensembles. We demonstrate theoretically that the filter output converges to the least square estimate of the underlying signal. Computer simulations with known signal and added noise show that AF produces lower MSE than ensemble averaging. We also compare results of AF to those obtained by ensemble averaging for some EP recorded from animals and humans. For very noisy EP recordings, we propose techniques that combine AF and ensemble averaging. The AF technique shows promise for requiring fewer ensembles than averaging to attain adequate signal quality.
Online Mendelian Inheritance in Man (OMIM).

Online Mendelian Inheritance In Man (OMIM) is a public database of bibliographic information about human genes and genetic disorders. Begun by Dr. Victor McKusick as the authoritative reference Mendelian Inheritance in Man, it is now distributed electronically by the National Center for Biotechnology Information (NCBI). Material in OMIM is derived from the biomedical literature and is written by Dr. McKusick and his colleagues at Johns Hopkins University and elsewhere. Each OMIM entry has a full text summary of a genetic phenotype and/or gene and has copious links to other genetic resources such as DNA and protein sequence, PubMed references, mutation databases, approved gene nomenclature, and more. In addition, NCBI's neighboring feature allows users to identify related articles from PubMed selected on the basis of key words in the OMIM entry. Through its many features, OMIM is increasingly becoming a major gateway for clinicians, students, and basic researchers to the ever-growing literature and resources of human genetics.
Social engagement in older residents of assisted living facilities.

Objectives: As a core component of successful aging, social engagement is widely known to play an important role in promoting the health and well-being of older populations. Given the unique nature of assisted living facility (ALF) settings, the present study made a distinction between social engagement within and outside the facility and explored how these two types of social engagement would interact with functional disability in predicting depressive symptoms of older residents in ALFs. We hypothesized that the positive impact of social engagement within the facility would be greater among residents with higher levels of functional disability.Method: Using data from 150 ALF residents in Florida (Mage = 82.8, SD = 9.41), the direct and moderating effects of functional disability and the two types of social engagement on depressive symptoms were assessed.Results: Supporting the hypothesis, the interaction between functional disability and social engagement within the facility was found to be significant....
Linking Biomechanical Workload and Organizational Practices to Burnout and Satisfaction

We found support for several hypotheses linking work practices to employee outcomes: reducing biomechanical workload is associated with decreased burnout via perceptions that job demands are less threatening; lower demands are associated with higher job satisfaction primarily through decreases in burnout; employers who include employees in decision making processes have employees with lower levels of burnout and higher satisfaction; and having a disability management program is associated with having employees who report less job-related burnout. This study demonstrates the importance of programs that increase perceived organizational support and the importance of job design strategies that take into account physical workload.
A Fiber Optic Sensor For Measuring Multimegampere Currents From Flux Compression Generators

We are developing and fielding single mode fiber optic sensors that measure multi-megampere currents in electromagnetically hostile environments aggravated by the use of explosives. Current is measured by detecting the Faraday rotation of polarized laser light from a fiber surrounding the current conductor. Comparisons to accurately calibrated Rogowski loops show agreement to within a few per cent, well within the accuracies of the experiments.