cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Pharmacy Students’ Performance and Perceptions in a Flipped Teaching Pilot on Cardiac Arrhythmias

Objective. To implement the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias and to assess the impact of the intervention on academic performance and student perceptions. Design. An intervention group of 101 first-year pharmacy students, who took the class with the flipped teaching method, were supplied with prerecorded lectures prior to their 3 classes (1 class in each of the following subjects: basic sciences, pharmacology, and therapeutics) on cardiac arrhythmias. Class time was focused on active-learning and case-based exercises. Students then took a final examination that included questions on cardiac arrhythmias. The examination scores of the intervention group were compared to scores of the Spring 2011 control group of 105 first-year students who took the class with traditional teaching methods. An online survey was conducted to assess student feedback from the intervention group. Assessment. The mean examination scores of the intervention group were significantly higher than the mean examination scores of the control group for the cardiac arrhythmia classes in pharmacology (with 89.6 ± 2.0% vs 56.8 ± 2.2%, respectively) and therapeutics (89.2 ± 1.4% vs 73.7 ± 2.1%, respectively). The survey indicated higher student satisfaction for flipped classes with highly rated learning objectives, recordings, and in-class activities. Conclusion. Use of the flipped teaching method in a 3-class pilot on cardiac arrhythmias improved examination scores for 2 of the 3 classes (pharmacology and therapeutics). Student satisfaction was influenced by the quality of the learning objectives, prerecorded lectures, and inclass active-learning activities.
The spatial distribution of termite activity in grazed and ungrazed Chihuahuan Desert grassland

Abstract Termites are important in litter decomposition and nutrient cycling in desert grasslands but little is known about the spatial distribution of termites and how spatial patterns are affected by topography and grazing by livestock. We measured the distribution of surface activity by the subterranean termiteGnathamitermes tubiformansin grazed and ungrazed Chihuahuan Desert grassland along 900 m transects that spanned a topographic gradient. Numbers of termite casts on litter and plants were recorded in 900 contiguous 1 m2quadrats along a transect located in a grazed area and in an ungrazed control. Cover of plants and litter were also recorded in 1 m2quadrats every 10 m along each transect.
A carboxyl terminal leucine zipper is required for tyrosine hydroxylase tetramer formation

: Tyrosine hydroxylase catalyzes the rate-limiting reaction in the biosynthesis of the catecholamine neurotransmitters and hormones (dopamine, norepinephrine, and epinephrine). Rat tyrosine hydroxylase exists, in its native form, as a tetramer composed of identical 498 amino acid subunits. There is currently no information describing the molecular interactions by which the four monomeric tyrosine hydroxylase subunits assemble into an active tetramer. Mutational analysis was performed on bacterially expressed enzyme to assess the role of a putative C-terminal leucine zipper in the assembly of subunits into the tetrameric holoenzyme. Deletion of the C-terminal 19 amino acids, or mutation of a leucine residue (to an alanine), converts the enzyme from a tetrameric to a dimeric form that exhibits greater structural heterogeneity. This change in macromolecular form is accompanied by a 75% (deletion mutation) to 20% (Leu Ala mutation) reduction in specific activity of the enzyme. This represents the first report of the functional involvement of a region containing a leucine zipper motif in the assembly and activity of a neuronal enzyme.
Hybrid output mirror for optically pumped far infrared lasers

Abstract A hybrid metallic mesh multilayer dielectric coating mirror has been developed for use as an output mirror for optically pumped far infrared lasers. The metallic mesh provides a high reflectance in the far infrared while the multilayer dielectric coating is chosen to provide a maximum reflectivity at the pump wavelength (10 μm). This hybrid mirror has increased the output power of a CH 3 F waveguide laser at 496 μm by a factor of 350 over that obtained with a hole coupling mirror. In addition, this mirror results in a far infrared output beam which has a minimum angular divergence limited only by the particular oscillating transverse waveguide mode (the EH 11 mode for this experiment).
Occult and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding: causes and clinical management

Occult gastrointestinal bleeding, defined as bleeding that is unknown to the patient, is the most common form of gastrointestinal bleeding and can be caused by virtually any lesion in the gastrointestinal tract. Patients with occult gastrointestinal bleeding include those with fecal occult blood and iron-deficiency anemia (IDA). In men and postmenopausal women, IDA should be considered to be the result of gastrointestinal bleeding until proven otherwise. Indeed, the possibility of gastrointestinal tract malignancy in these patients means that gastrointestinal evaluation is nearly always indicated. Obscure gastrointestinal bleeding is defined as obvious bleeding from a difficult to identify source and is always recurrent. This form of bleeding accounts for approximately 5% of all cases of clinically evident gastrointestinal bleeding and is most commonly caused by bleeding from the small intestine. Capsule endoscopy and deep enteroscopy have had a major impact on the way that patients with occult and, in particular, obscure bleeding are managed. In this Review the causes, diagnostic evaluation and treatment of occult and obscure gastrointestinal bleeding are discussed.
Vitamin nutrition of livestock animals: Overview from vitamin discovery to today

The term “vitamin” or “vitamine” was first used in 1912. What later became known as vitamin deficiency diseases — scurvy, beriberi, night blindness and xeropthalmia — had plagued the world from antiquity. From 1900 through the 1930s, experiments with animals helped to advance knowledge of vitamins considerably. There are 15 vitamins of significance for livestock. A number of factors influence vitamin requirements and vitamin utilization, including physiological make-up and production function; confinement rearing without pasture; stress, disease and adverse environmental conditions; vitamin antagonists; use of antimicrobial drugs; and body vitamin reserves. Under commercial livestock and poultry production conditions, vitamin allowances higher than National Research Council (USA) requirements may be needed for optimum performance. Generally, the optimum vitamin supplementation level is the quantity that achieves the best growth rate, feed utilization and health (including immune competency), while also pr...
Enzyme activity in human gingival crevicular fluid: considerations in data reporting based on analysis of individual crevicular sites.

Abstract Using a reproducible approach to collection, processing and analysis of gingival crevicular fluid (GCF). this study examined 284 fluid samples from individual crevicular sites for the presence of the enzymes lactate dehydrogenase (LDH), B-glucuronidase (BG) and arylsulfatase (AS). 88 of the sites were from periodontally healthy individuals (probing depth 1–3 mm), while 98 sites from patients with periodontitis were examined before and 2 weeks after scaling and root planing (probing depths 1–3 mm. 4–6 mm and 7–10 mm). This study demonstrated the sensitivity of the enzyme assays. When GCF was collected with a 30-s insertion of the filter strip, 90% of the sites from the control subjects demonstrated LDH activity, 85% demonstrated BG activity and 73% demonstrated AS activity. For the 1–3 mm sites from the patients with periodontitis. 100% of sites from which fluid was collected demonstrated LDH and BG activity, and 90% of sites had AS activity before therapy. After therapy, 100% of sites demonstrated LDH activity, 90% had BG activity and 83% had AS activity. All sites in the 4–6 mm and 7–10 mm categories demonstrated activity of all 3 enzymes. The data were analyzed in terms of enzyme activity/30-s sample and as concentration of enzyme in a standard volume of GCF. Enzyme activity/30-s sample was a different and possibly more sensitive indicator of periodontal pathology than standard clinical parameters. There was a disassociation between clinical parameters and the data for enzyme analysis when it was reported as concentration.
Americans' opinions about policies to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Abstract Objective Strategies to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages are a key component of public health promotion and obesity prevention, yet the introduction of many of these policies has been met with political controversy. The objective of this study is to assess the levels of and determinants of U.S. public support for policies to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Methods An Internet-based survey (N = 1319) was fielded with a nationally-representative sample of U.S. adults aged 18–64 during fall 2012. Results Respondents have the highest support for calorie labeling (65%) and removing drinks from schools (62%), and the lowest support for taxes (22%) or portion size restrictions (26%). Examining several determinants of support simultaneously, Democrats and those with negative views of soda companies are more likely to support these policies. Conclusions The results provide policymakers and advocates with insights about the political feasibility of policy approaches to address the prevalent consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as the role of attitudes toward soda companies as an independent predictor of the public's opinions.
KAPOSI'S SARCOMA: A BYPRODUCT OF TUMOUR REJECTION

It is suggested that Kaposi's sarcoma is the result of a chronic immunological reaction between antigenically altered or transformed lymphoid cells and normal lymphocytes. In the course of this local graft-versus-host type activity, an angiogenesis factor is liberated and intense proliferation of mesenchymal and endothelial cells ensues. During the G.V.H.-like activity, an oncogenic virus is either transferred to or induced in the cells responsive to the angiogenesis factor. Thus, the stage is set for neoplastic transformation of these cells in an environment which is conducive to the progressive growth of the virally transformed vasoformative mesenchyme.
Administering and assessing culture-specific interventions to address culture-bound issues among Asian American college students

The administration and assessment of culturally sensitive interventions can help postsecondary educators address critical culture-bound issues among minority groups.
Testing for reversibility in markov chain data

This paper introduces two statistics that assess whether (or not) a sequence sampled from a stationary time-homogeneous Markov chain on a finite state space is reversible. The test statistics are based on observed deviations of transition sample counts between each pair of states in the chain. First, the joint asymptotic normality of these sample counts is established. This result is then used to construct two chi-squared-based tests for reversibility. Simulations assess the power and type one error of the proposed tests.
Nylons: A review of the literature on products of combustion and toxicity

The literature on polyamides was reviewed to determine the nature and extent of information available on these materials which are commonly used in consumer and industrial applications. This review was limited to aliphatic polyamides normally called nylon and excludes aromatic polyamides such as Nomex and bicomponent polymers consisting of nylon and other polymers. The review was further limited to those publications in English through June 1984. Typical pyrolysis products from a broad range of nylons do not appear to differ greatly. Many of the decomposition products detected in vacuum pyrolysis experiments appear as products of thermal degradation in inert and air atmospheres. In air, a general reduction in the quantities of heavier hydrocarbons is noted along with an increase in the production of CO, CO2, H2O, NH3, HCN and NOx. The toxicity of the thermal degradation products from various types of nylon has been evaluated by nine different protocols. Reported LC50 values range from 10.8 m l−1 to 61.9 mg l−1. Dyes apparently do not affect the materials' combustion products toxicity but an increase in the amount of backcoating on a nylon fabric increases toxicity. Time to death measurements show that volatile products from nylons are less toxic than those from rayons or cotton, while the blending of wool with nylon greatly increases the toxicity of the thermal decomposition products. In general, however, the overall toxicity of the thermal degradation products from nylon do not appear to be greatly different than those from many other polymeric materials. Large-scale test results are ambiguous, and it is difficult to interpret the results in terms of a single component in a multicomponent system.
Esophagectomy--it's not just about mortality anymore: standardized perioperative clinical pathways improve outcomes in patients with esophageal cancer.

Background Esophageal resection (ER) remains the standard therapy for early esophageal cancer; however, because of concerns regarding high levels of morbidity and mortality reported in analyses of national databases, many patients are relegated to less effective endoscopic or chemotherapeutic approaches.
Demonstration of distal tubular flux of phosphorus using modified stop-flow analysis

Flux of phosphate into the distal renal tubule was demonstrated by the injection of P32 into the renal artery just before the re-establishment of urine flow in canine stop-flow experiments. Sharp peaks of radioactivity were detected in urine fractions corresponding to the distal nephron in 6 of 8 dogs studied. Similar experiments using inulin-C14 rather than P32 did not reveal any radioactivity in distal tubular urine but only a single peak representing new glomerular filtrate. In some experiments there was only a single distal tubular peak of P32 while in other ones there were two distinct distal tubular areas of phosphate influx. The variable permeability of this area of the tubule was further evidenced by the failure to detect a distal tubular peak of P32 in 2 dogs. Although net tubular secretion of P32 was not documented in these studies the results are compatible with such secretion.
Patients' Perceptions of Pharmacological and Cognitive-Behavioral Treatments for Anxiety Disorders

Cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) and pharmacotherapy are the most well-established treatments for anxiety disorders. This study examined how treatment-seeking anxiety disorder patients (N = 103) perceive the acceptability, believability, and effectiveness of these treatments. While both treatments were perceived favorably, CBT was rated as more acceptable and more likely to be effective in the long-term. Most patients also rated CBT as their treatment of choice. Patients taking medication reported equally favorable views of both treatments, whereas unmedicated patients rated CBT more favorably than medication. Psychotherapy history was less strongly related to treatment perceptions. Our results suggest that despite their favorable views of both treatments, patients tend to prefer CBT to medication for the treatment of anxiety disorders. Directions for future research are discussed.
Immigrants and Welfare: Policy Constructions of Deservingness

ABSTRACT The passage of the Personal Responsibility and Work Opportunity Reconciliation Act (PRWORA) of 1996, H.R. 3734, ended eligibility for all immigrants to federal means tested entitlements including federal cash assistance, food stamps, and Medicaid. Underprivileged elderly immigrants were specifically targeted. This article examines how older immigrants are constructed as “undeserving” of federal means-tested entitlements such as Supplemental Security Income (SSI). In particular, it focuses on the frames used in various congressional policy hearings leading up to the passage of the welfare reform law and examines how older immigrants become unworthy of receiving SSI. The sample consisted of the 1994–1996 U.S. Congressional hearing transcripts on SSI and immigrants. Through a content analysis of these transcripts, themes and frames were identified. The findings demonstrate that immigrants were constructed as fraudulent and immigrating to the U.S. to receive public assistance. Their families were por...
Adaptive quality of service framework for wireless multimedia networks

In this research, we first address the QoS issue in different levels of wireless multimedia networks, and present a generic QoS framework to meet the requirements of different applications and services adaptively. Then, we focus on the connection-level QoS, measured by the connection blocking and dropping probabilities. A service model consisting of three service classes designed for connection-level QoS provisioning is proposed. The underlying network of consideration employs different call admission control and resource reservation schemes to allocate resources adaptively to each service class according to their haracteristics and requirements. The system is analyzed by a multi-dimensional model. Simulations are conducted based on the model analysis to evaluate the system performance.
Wear mechanism in composites: a qualitative model

Abstract A qualitative model of wear in composite materials is presented. The model is based on the possibility of formation of loose wear particles as a result of debonding at the fiber/matrix interface. The experimental results lend support to the suggested wear mechanism.
Role of Chemmotology at the Present Stage

The importance of chemmotology for development and application of modern and advanced technology is discussed. The urgency of use in military technology of fuels and lubricants with the required level of performance properties is shown. The key directions and results of chemmotological R&D for creating technical facilities for petroleum products supply are described. The goals of development of basic and critical chemmotological technologies are formulated.
Known maternal gradients are not sufficient for the establishment of gap domains in Drosophila melanogaster.

Gap genes are among the first transcriptional targets of maternal morphogen gradients in the early Drosophila embryo. However, it remains unclear whether these gradients are indeed sufficient to establish the boundaries of localized gap gene expression patterns. In this study, we address this question using gap gene circuits, which are data-driven mathematical tools for extracting regulatory information from quantitative wild-type gene expression data. We present new, quantitative data on the mRNA expression patterns for the gap genes Kruppel (Kr), knirps (kni) and giant (gt) during the early blastoderm stage of Drosophila development. This data set shows significant differences in timing of gap gene expression compared to previous observations, and reveals that early gap gene expression is highly variable in both space and time. Gene circuit models fit to this data set were used for a detailed regulatory analysis of early gap gene expression. Our analysis shows that the proper balance of maternal repression and activation is essential for the correct positioning of gap domains, and that such balance can only be achieved for early expression of kni. In contrast, our results suggest that early expression of gt requires local neutralization of repressive input in the anterior region of the embryo, and that known maternal gradients are completely insufficient to position the boundaries of the early central Kr domain, or in fact any Kr-like domain in the central region of the blastoderm embryo. Based on this, we propose that unknown additional regulators must be involved in early gap gene regulation.
A multilevel model of child- and classroom-level psychosocial factors that support language and literacy resilience of children in Head Start

Abstract Early exposure to the multiple risk factors associated with poverty is related to an elevated risk for academic difficulty. Therefore, it is important to promote academic resilience as early as possible and to identify factors that support resilience. Given the positive relation between early language skills and later academic outcomes, examining resilience in the domain of language and literacy is critical. Both exposure to a high-quality classroom environment and early child psychosocial strengths may serve as protective or promotive factors for low-income children, reducing the risk of poor language and literacy outcomes. Using a sample of 275 preschoolers from 29 Head Start classrooms, the current study examined the relations among teacher-reported child-level psychosocial strengths, observed classroom process quality, and growth in language and literacy. Furthermore, whether child and classroom factors had an additive or an interactive effect on outcomes was also investigated. Results indicated that child-level psychosocial strengths predicted initial levels of language and literacy, and classroom organization predicted growth. Results are discussed in terms of understanding how malleable child- and classroom-level factors are associated with language and literacy outcomes and emphasize the importance of intervening early on in young children's learning trajectories.
Dissecting tBHQ induced ARE-driven gene expression through long and short oligonucleotide arrays.

This paper compares the gene expression profiles identified by short (Affymetrix U95AV2) or long (Agilent Hu1A) oligonucleotide arrays on a model for upregulation of a cluster of antioxidant respon...
A web-based patient activation intervention to improve hypertension care: Study design and baseline characteristics in the web hypertension study

Background Despite the known health risks of hypertension, many hypertensive patients still have uncontrolled blood pressure. Clinical inertia, the tendency of physicians not to intensify treatment, is a common barrier in controlling chronic diseases. This trial is aimed at determining the impact of activating patients to ask providers to make changes to their care through tailored feedback.
A Critical Background of PHILCOM: Phenomenology and Marxism

PHILCOM was conceived as a free-space for engaging in the development of a philosophy of communication, welcoming all. Two major strands of continental philosophy fueled the inception of PHILCOM: Marxism and Phenomenology and its critique of the human sciences. If Marxism and Phenomenology have taught us anything it is not to forget our origins. Such forgetting often condemns us to the mistakes of the past, substituting moralism for concrete reflection. This essay is a reminder of our roots and attempts to point to a trajectory of critical themes in order to reclaim this free-space.
Polyphosphate granules in encysted zoospores of Rozella allomycis.

Methods of ultracytochemistry and of X-ray energy dispersive analysis have been used to demonstrate that the “gamma-like” granules in encysted zoospores of the chytrid Rozella allomycis contain polyphosphate. The possibility that cysts contain two classes of polyphosphate granules which differ in structure, in function, and in origin is discussed.
Fluidelastic Tube Vibration in a Heat Exchanger Designed for Sodium-to-Air Operation

Analysis and testing were performed to evaluate the potential for flow induced vibrations of the finned U-tubes of a sodium-to-air dump heat exchanger of the Fast Flux Test Facility (FFTF). The analysis showed that fluidelastic vibration of the U-bend sections, caused by a displacement-dependent mechanism, could be experienced. Consequently, model tests, with prototypic tubing and stagnant water simulating the sodium mass on the tubeside, were performed. The tests consisted of subjecting the overhanging U-bends of a bank of five U-tubes to a range of air flow velocities at room temperature. Test results showed that, for a given support and restraint condition, a critical flow velocity exists above which large vibration amplitudes are induced. Characterization of the critical flow velocity was investigated. Supplementary single tube experiments determined vortex shedding frequencies, U-tube natural frequencies, damping, and, separately, the effect of internal water flow. (auth)
Ionic Complexes of Conjugated Oligoquinolines

Abstract : Single crystal x-ray structures of salt complexes of oligoquinoline, 2,2'-bis(4-phenylquinoline)-1,4-phenylene (4), with p-toluenesulfonic acid, trifluoromethanesulfonic acid and a laser dye, Sulforhodamine 101 hydrate have been determined and used to study the effects of molecular packing on physical and photophysical properties of conjugated oligomer and polymers, UV-vis and emission spectra of thin films of the oligoquinoline-p-toluenesulfonate complex were also performed. These results indicate that they form an intermolecular charge-transfer complex. These complexes serve as models of quarternized polyquinolines such as the self-assembled bilayer films of polyquinoline and polystyrenesulfonic acid.
On the Lopping of Combs in White Leghorn Females

Abstract MOST poultrymen know that in mature Single Comb White Leghorn females the large comb lops over on one side of the head, frequently covering the eye. The question arises, hitherto unanswered, whether the combs lop to the right or left with equal frequency. Is the direction of the lop determined by heredity? Do some combs remain erect? Are hens with combs on the left side as desirable from the economic standpoint as those with combs lopped to the right, and are either superior to hens having upright combs? Although the answers to these questions have till now been unavailable, they might be considered so unimportant that a special experiment to obtain them would hardly be justified. However, merely by recording the direction of the comb lop for the breeding Leghorns and their progeny utilized in an extensive study of genetic resistance to disease, it has been a simple matter to . . .
Reduced dimer excision in bacteria following near ultraviolet (365 nm) radiation.

The experiment consisted of uv-irradiating Escherichia coli at 365 mn and then inducing substrate for the excision system in DNA by 254 nm radiation. The samples were then assayed for excision. The ability of E. coli to excise dimers induced in DNA by 254 nm radiation was progressively reduced as a function of the dose of 365 nm radiation. The dose of radiation required for the elimination of detectable excising ability was approximately the same as the threshold dose for exponential inactivation. The chemical evidence supports the hypothesis that excision repair rapidly becomes ineffective at biologically significant doses of 365 nm radiation.
QUALITATIVE TECHNIQUES FOR BIFURCATION ANALYSIS OF COMPLEX SYSTEMS

Here x is an element of a finite-dimensional vector space (say R") or of a suitable Banach space of functions. In the latter case, (1) represents a partial differential equation (PDE). The control parameter p E R" is supposed to vary slowly in comparison with the evolution rate of a typical solution x ( t ) of (1). Thus we treat (1) as an m-parameter family of ODE'S. We are primarily interested in studying the qualitative changes that occur in the vector field or (semi) flow defined by (1) as p varies. The techniques used in the study of (1) draw on several fields, notably those of functional analysis and differentiable topology. In this brief paper we are only able to sketch general ideas and must therefore refer the reader to texts such as Chillingworth,' and Marsden and McCracken" for background information and further details. Both texts contain a wealth of additional references. The general problem of bifurcation of vector fields-the qualitative study of equations, such as (1)-contains as an important subproblem, the study of bifurcations of equilibria, or stationary solutions. Much of the work done so far in bifurcation theory has been addressed specifically to the latter problem. The usual definitions of a bifurcation point are couched with this in mind. Since we wish to study a more general class of problems, and, in particular, to consider the case of global bifurcations, we propose an alternative definition, which is a slight modification of the definitions due to Smale and Thorn. First we review the usual definition. Consider a map F:X x A Y, where X , A and Y are Banach spaces, and A is the parameter space. Set F(x ,X) = 0 and seek the solutions. Let x(X) be
The Effect of Language on Verbal Expression and Recall

M ANY nonliterate people in contact with western society learn a European language or a lingua franca. They may use this foreign language in front of strangers, and their native language among their own people. Anthropologists and other social scientists sometimes interview certain informants in a European language and others in the vernacular. Is the opinion of people influenced by the language in which an issue is expressed? In some situations, acculturating people learn procedures and values which they subsequently recall either in the same or in a different language. Colonial administrators instruct people in one language who thereafter think and talk in their mother tongue. At Makerere College in Uganda all the teaching is in English. Students there discuss problems among themselves both in English and also in their own languages. Moreover, many of them later utilize in some African language what they learn in English at Makerere. Is memory affected by the difference between the language of learning or exposure and the language of recall? This investigation seeks to explore limited aspects of these linguistic problems under carefully controlled but artificial conditions. It departs from existing literature on bilingualism. That literature concentrates upon the relation between the phenomenon and a general ability like "intelligence" (e.g., Arsenian 1937); the measurement of bilingual achievement (e.g., Taute 1948); the problems of teaching a society's language to immigrant children (e.g., Tireman 1948); the effects upon one language of knowing another (e.g., Weinreich 1953); or propaganda in behalf of an intruding language in a foreign country (e.g., Geissler 1938).
Microscopic polyangiitis triggered by recurrent methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.

Most of the purported links between microbial agents and primary small-vessel anti-neutrophilic antibody-positive (ANCA) vasculitides remain speculative. There is strong circumstantial evidence for the role of Staphylococcus aureus in the development of Wegener’s granulomatosis, but its role in other ANCA-positive vasculitis syndromes is less clear. We describe a patient who developed a non-granulomatous, necrotizing small-vessel vasculitis with a positive anti-neutrophil cytoplasmic antibody of a perinuclear type (p-ANCA), along with anti-myeloperoxidase antibodies after recurrent episodes of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus bacteremia.
Race and Medical Practice in Kansas City's Free Dispensary

Patient records from the Kansas City Free Dispensary, 1906-1912, provide material for a case study of race in early twentieth-century medicine. The dispensary was a free, racially integrated medical clinic operated for educational purposes by the University of Kansas. Little historical work has been done examining the role of race in routine medical practice. Medical records give insight to the development of durable clinical habits and rules of thumb. Practitioners at the Kansas City Free Dispensary showed clear racial inequities in their care, for example in the treatment of pain, but they did not acknowledge or explain their practices, although the necessary rhetoric and justifications lay close at hand. The author speculates that the disavowal of scientific racism in medicine in decades to follow may have done little to dislodge habits that became embedded in informal clinical judgments.
A sterically demanding nucleophilic carbene: 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene). Thermochemistry and catalytic application in olefin metathesis

Abstract The sterically demanding nucleophilic carbene ligand 1,3-bis(2,6-diisopropylphenyl)imidazol-2-ylidene (IPr, 4) has been synthesized. The reaction of [Cp*RuCl]4 (5; Cp*=η5-C5Me5) with this ligand affords a coordinatively unsaturated Cp*Ru(IPr)Cl (6) complex. Solution calorimetric results in this system provide information concerning the electron donor properties of the carbene ligand. Steric parameters associated with this ligand are determined from the X-ray crystal structure study. The carbene ligand reacts with RuCl2(C(H)Ph)(PCy3)2 (1) to yield a mixed carbene–phosphine ruthenium complex RuCl2(C(H)Ph)(IPr)(PCy3) (9). A single-crystal X-ray diffraction study has been performed on 9. The thermal stability of 9 has been studied at 60°C and its catalytic activity has been evaluated for the ring closing metathesis of diethyldiallylmalonate.
The metal-mediated formation of hydroxyl radical by aqueous extracts of cigarette tar.

Abstract Aqueous extracts of cigerette tar produce hydroxyl radicals that are spin trapped by 5,5-dimethyl-1-pyrroline-N-oxide. The addition of catalase almost completely inhibits and superoxide dismutase partially inhibits spin adduct formation. The addition of ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid greatly increases the amount of hydroxyl radical adduct observed; in contrast, diethylenetriamine pentaacetic acid causes complete inhibition of spin adduct formation. We suggest that the hydroxyl radical arises from the metal-mediated decomposition of hydrogen peroxide, and that hydrogen peroxide is formed from the reduction of dioxygen by the semiquinones present in the cigarette tar.
Charles Tilly, globalization, and labor’s citizen rights

Since the 1990s, observers have seen globalization impairing labor’s rights. We take Charles Tilly as an exemplar of this view, subjecting his 1995 article to critical appreciation. We argue that Tilly, known for his work on the National Social Movement, overlooked the fact that some unions under pressure from global neo-liberalism can employ a protest repertoire employing their citizen rights, while others continue to use labor rights. We use port workers, who are directly exposed to globalization, to show how different political opportunity structures and different strategic choices influence these choices. In Sweden, our exemplar of a neo-corporatist system, we find that the employment of labor rights continues to be robust; in the USA, our exemplar of a fully-fledged neo-liberal system, we find much greater recourse to a repertoire calling on citizen rights. Finally, in Australia and Great Britain, countries undergoing a shift to neo-liberalism in the 1980s and 1990s, we show that strategic choice influences how effectively unions adapt to shifts towards neo-liberalism: Australian unions effectively used citizen rights while the British port unions failed to make this strategic shift.
The Minimum Data Set: Predicting Malnutrition in Newly Admitted Nursing Home Residents

The purpose of this study was to describe the prevalence of protein-calorie malnutrition (PCM) among newly admitted elderly nursing home residents and identify the most significant predictors of PC...
Epigenetics and Social Context: Implications for Disparity in Cardiovascular Disease

Background Although it is well established that African Americans (AA) experience greater social stressors than non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), the extent to which early life adversity and cumulative social stressors such as perceived discrimination, neighborhood violence, subjective social status, and socioeconomic status contribute to disparity in coronary heart disease (CHD) and stroke between AA and NHW are not well understood. Purpose The purpose of this paper is to propose a conceptual model based upon McEwen's Allostatic Load Model suggesting how the relationships among social context, early life adversity, psychological stress, inflammation, adaptation, and epigenetic signature may contribute to the development of CHD and ischemic stroke. We hypothesize that social context and prior life adversity are associated with genome-wide as well as gene-specific epigenetic modifications that confer a proinflammatory epigenetic signature that mediates an enhanced proinflammatory state. Exposure to early life adversity, coupled with an increased allostatic load places individuals at greater risk for inflammatory based diseases, such as CHD and ischemic stroke. Results Based on a review of the literature, we propose a novel model in which social context and psychological stress, particularly during early life, engenders a proinflammatory epigenetic signature, which drives a heightened inflammatory state that increases risk for CHD and stroke. In the proposed model, a proinflammatory epigenetic signature and adaptation serve as mediator variables. Conclusions Understanding the extent to which epigenetic signature bridges the psycho-social environment with inflammation and risk for CHD may yield novel biomarkers that can be used to assess risk, development, and progression of CHD/stroke. Epigenetic biomarkers may be used to inform preventive and treatment strategies that can be targeted to those most vulnerable, or to those with early signs of CHD, such as endothelial dysfunction. Furthermore, epigenetic approaches, including lifestyle modification and stress reduction programs, such as mindfulness-based stress reduction, offer promise to reduce health inequity linked to social disadvantage, as emerging evidence demonstrates that adverse epigenetic marks can be reversed.
Video-Based Supplemental Instruction: Serving Underprepared Students.

Video-based Supplemental Instruction (VSI), a learning model developed at the University of Missouri-Kansas City (UMKC) in the early 1990s, assists students in mastering difficult course content while developing and refining their reasoning and critical thinking skills. In looking at researchers' theories and findings on how students learn most effectively in colleges and universities, VSI, based on Supplemental Instruction, stands out as a methodology that provides strategies and tools for academic success. Programs hke SI have been shown to positively affect the student academic environment on campus and can also counteract the isolation that may lead to student attrition (Tinto, 1997).
Fatal gunshot wound to the head: the impact of aggressive management.

Abstract Background Patients with fatal gunshot wounds (GSWs) to the head often have poor outcomes but are ideal candidates for organ donation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of aggressive management on organ donation in patient with fatal GSWs to the head. Methods A 5-year review of all patients at a trauma center with GSWs to the head was performed. The primary outcome was organ donation after fatal GSW to the head. Results A total of 98 patients with fatal GSWs to the head were identified. The rate of potential organ donation was 70%, of whom 49% eventually donated 72 solid organs. Twenty-five percent of patients were not considered eligible for donation as a result of disseminated intravascular coagulopathy. The T4 protocol lead to significant organ procurement rates (odds ratio, 3.6; 95% confidence interval, 1.3 to 9.6; P = .01). Failures to organ donation in eligible patients were due to lack of family consent and cardiac arrest. Conclusions Organ donation after fatal GSW to the head is a legitimate goal. Management goals should focus on early aggressive resuscitation and correction of coagulopathy.
Comparison between LCOS projector and DLP projector in generating digital sinusoidal fringe patterns

Digital-light-processing (DLP) and liquid-crystal-on-silicon (LCOS) are two digital projection technologies which enjoy great popularity. This paper will demonstrate the performance of the two technologies in generating digital sinusoidal fringe patterns in the two following ways: focused-sinusoidal-patterns (FSP) method and defocused-binary-patterns (DBP) method. Experiment shows that for the FSP method, LCOS projector is a better choice since nonlinear gamma effect is less significant and there is no need for precise synchronization; While for the DBP method, DLP projector has the advantage over LCOS projector since the generated images have higher contrast ratio.
Risk aversion and the elasticity of substitution in general dynamic portfolio theory: Consistent planning by forward looking, expected utility maximizing investors

Using the measure of risk aversion suggested by Kihlstrom and Mirman [Kihlstrom, R., Mirman, L., 1974. Risk aversion with many commodities. Journal of Economic Theory 8, 361–388; Kihlstrom, R., Mirman, L., 1981. Constant, increasing and decreasing risk aversion with many commodities. Review of Economic Studies 48, 271–280], we propose a dynamic consumption-savings–portfolio choice model in which the consumer-investor maximizes the expected value of a non-additively separable utility function of current and future consumption. Preferences for consumption streams are CES and the elasticity of substitution can be chosen independently of the risk aversion measure. The additively separable case is a special case. Because choices are not dynamically consistent, we follow the “consistent planning” approach of Strotz [Strotz, R., 1956. Myopia and inconsistency in dynamic utility maximization. Review of Economic Studies 23, 165–180] and also interpret our analysis from the game theoretic perspective taken by Peleg and Yaari [Peleg, B., Yaari, M., 1973. On the existence of a consistent course of action when tastes are changing. Review of Economic Studies 40, 391–401]. The equilibrium of the Lucas asset pricing model with i.i.d. consumption growth is obtained and the equity premium is shown to depend on the elasticity of substitution as well as the risk aversion measure. The nature of the dependence is examined. Our results are contrasted with those of the non-expected utility recursive approach of Epstein–Zin and Weil.
The Bisphosphonate Ibandronate Promotes Apoptosis in MDA-MB-231 Human Breast Cancer Cells in Bone Metastases

Bisphosphonate (BP), a specific inhibitor of osteoclasts, has been widely used as a beneficial agent for the treatment of bone metastases in patients with breast cancer. It is well recognized that BP reduces osteolysis by promoting apoptosis in osteoclasts. However, recent animal and human data suggest that BPs not only reduce osteolysis associated with metastatic breast cancer, but also decrease tumor burden in bone. The mechanisms by which tumor burden is decreased following BP administration are unknown. Here we examined the effects of the BP ibandronate on MDA-231 human breast cancer cells in bone metastases in a well-characterized animal model of bone metastasis. Ibandronate, which was administered (s.c. daily; 4 microg/mouse/day) after bone metastases were established, inhibited the progression of established osteolytic bone metastases as assessed by radiographic analysis. Histological and histomorphometrical examination revealed that ibandronate reduced osteoclastic bone resorption, with increased apoptosis in osteoclasts. Furthermore, ibandronate also significantly decreased the MDA-231 tumor burden, with increased apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in bone metastases. In contrast, ibandronate failed to inhibit MDA-231 tumor formation with no effects on apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in the orthotopic mammary fat pads. These data suggest that the effects of ibandronate on apoptosis in MDA-231 breast cancer cells are restricted in bone in which ibandronate selectively deposits. Consistent with these in vivo results, a relatively high concentration of ibandronate (100 microM) increased caspase-3 activity and induced DNA fragmentation in MDA-231 breast cancer cells in culture. Moreover, a caspase inhibitor, z-Val-Ala-Asp-fluoromethyl ketone, blocked ibandronate-induced DNA fragmentation in MDA-231 cells, suggesting an involvement of caspase-3 in ibandronate-induced apoptosis. Our results suggest that BP suppresses bone metastases through promotion of apoptosis in metastatic cancer cells as well as in osteoclasts. However, it still remains open whether BP has direct anticancer actions in vivo.
High-order absolutely stable neural networks

The stability properties of arbitrary order continuous-time dynamic neural networks are studied in the spirit of an earlier analysis of a first-order system by M.A. Cohen and S. Grossberg (1983). The corresponding class of Lyapunov function is presented and the equilibrium points are characterized. The relationships with other continuous-time models are pointed out. >
In Vivo Monocyte Tropism of Pathogenic Feline Immunodeficiency Viruses

Virus-infected monocytes rarely are detected in the bloodstreams of animals or people infected with immunodeficiency-inducing lentiviruses, yet tissue macrophages are thought to be a major reservoir of virus-infected cells in vivo. We have identified feline immunodeficiency virus (FIV) clinical isolates that are pathogenic in cats and readily transmitted vertically. We report here that five of these FIV isolates are highly monocytotropic in vivo. However, while FIV-infected monocytes were numerous in the blood of experimentally infected cats, viral antigen was not detectable in freshly isolated cells. Only after a short-term (at least 12-h) in vitro monocyte culture were FIV antigens detectable (by immunocytochemical analysis or enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay). In vitro experiments suggested that monocyte adherence provided an important trigger for virus antigen expression. In the blood of cats infected with a prototype monocytotropic isolate (FIV subtype B strain 2542), infected monocytes appeared within 2 weeks, correlating with high blood mononuclear-cell-associated viral titers and CD4 cell depletion. By contrast, infected monocytes could not be detected in the blood of cats infected with a less pathogenic FIV strain (FIV subtype A strain Petaluma). We concluded that some strains of FIV are monocytotropic in vivo. Moreover, this property may relate to virus virulence, vertical transmission, and infection of tissue macrophages.
Study of the kinetics and equilibria of the oligomerization reactions of 2-methylglyceric acid

Abstract. The presence of a variety of chemical species related to the gaseous precursor isoprene in ambient secondary organic aerosol (SOA) has stimulated investigations of the nature of SOA-phase chemical processing. Recent work has demonstrated that 2-methylglyceric acid (2-MG) is an important isoprene-derived ambient SOA component and atmospheric chamber experiments have suggested that 2-MG may exist in oligomeric form (as oligoesters) under conditions of low SOA water content. In order to better understand the thermodynamic and kinetic parameters of such oligomerization reactions, nuclear magnetic resonance techniques were used to study the bulk phase acid-catalyzed aqueous reactions (Fischer esterification) of 2-MG. While the present results indicate that 2-MG oligoesters are formed in the bulk phase with similar water content equilibrium dependences as observed in atmospheric chamber SOA experiments, the acid-catalyzed rate of the Fischer esterification mechanism may be too slow to rationalize the 2-MG oligoester production timescales observed in the atmospheric chamber experiments. Furthermore, it appears that unrealistically high ambient SOA acidities would also be required for significant 2-MG oligoester content to arise via Fischer esterification. Therefore, the present results suggest that other, more kinetically facile, esterification mechanisms may be necessary to rationalize the existence of 2-MG oligomers in atmospheric chamber-generated and ambient SOA.
The Effect of Family Organization and Race and Ethnicity on Women’s Economic Status in New York State:

Family organization has a significant impact on women’s economic status; thus this article analyzes earnings and employment status data by two familial characteristics— marital status and the prese...