cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemotaxis in Bacillus subtilis: effects of attractants on the level of methylation of methyl-accepting chemotaxis proteins and the role of demethylation in the adaptation process

By performing in vivo methylation experiments and using highly resolving NaDodSO4-polyacrylamide gels, we have examined the effects of amino acid attractants on the methylation profile of Bacillus subtilis MCPs. Both increases and decreases have been found to occur in the level of methylation of these proteins. By using competition experiments and Conway diffusion cells, we have found that the demethylation event is correlated with the adaptation process. Gas chromatographic analysis indicates that methanol is evolved upon demethylation of these proteins. As more attractant receptors are titrated, corresponding increases in methanol evolution result. During this period of increased rate of methanol production, bacteria swim smoothly.
Correlated Latent Semantic Model for Unsupervised LM Adaptation

We propose a latent Dirichlet-tree allocation (LDTA) model - a correlated latent semantic model - for unsupervised language model adaptation. The LDTA model extends the latent Dirichlet allocation (LDA) model by replacing a Dirichlet prior with a Dirichlet-tree prior over the topic proportions. Latent topics under the same subtree are expected to be more correlated than topics under different subtrees. The LDTA model falls back to the LDA model using a depth-one Dirichlet-tree, and the model fits to the variational Bayes inference framework employed in the LDA model. Empirical results show that the LDTA model has a faster training convergence than the LDA model with the same initial flat model. Experimental results show that LDTA-adapted LM performed better than LDA-adapted LM on the Mandarin RT04-eval set when the models were trained using a small text corpus, while both models had the same recognition performance when the models were trained using a big text corpus. We observed 0.4% absolute CER reduction after LM adaptation using LSA marginals.
An exploratory study of the relationship of symptom domains and diagnostic severity to PET scan imaging in borderline personality disorder

Abstract The purpose of this report is to describe the relationship between clinical rating assessments of borderline personality disorder (BPD) and regional brain metabolism as measured by positron emission tomography with fluorodeoxyglucuse-F18 (PET-FDG). Fourteen women with BPD underwent PET-FDG scanning in a medication-free state. Correlations were performed on a voxel-by-voxel basis with Buss–Durkee Hostility Index (BDHI) and the Zanarini Rating Scale for Borderline Personality Disorder (ZAN-BPD) which provides a score for BPD severity. There was a significant negative correlation between glucose metabolism in frontal brain areas and the BDHI. Correlations of brain metabolic changes and diagnostic behavioral rating scale scores (ZAN-BPD) were small and seen mostly in posterior areas. The assessment of the statistical relationship of the BDHI to brain regions was substantially more robust than the correlations of the total ZAN-BPD. This exploratory study illustrates regional metabolic values that are highly related to hostile behavior. Our findings replicate some prior studies that have identified a negative relationship between frontal metabolism and aggression in personality disorders. We have also identified a range of other areas that relate to both positive (representing increased drive) and negative (representing impaired control) hostility scores. The substantially greater correlations of the BDHI compared with the ZAN-BPD provide information about the neural underpinnings of BPD.
Thresholding using two-dimensional histogram and fuzzy entropy principle

This paper presents a thresholding approach by performing fuzzy partition on a two-dimensional (2-D) histogram based on fuzzy relation and maximum fuzzy entropy principle. The experiments with various gray level and color images have demonstrated that the proposed approach outperforms the 2-D nonfuzzy approach and the one dimensional (1-D) fuzzy partition approach.
Youth exposure to violence prevention programs in a national sample

This paper assesses how many children and youth have had exposure to programs aimed at preventing various kinds of violence perpetration and victimization. Based on a national sample of children 5-17, 65% had ever been exposed to a violence prevention program, 55% in the past year. Most respondents (71%) rated the programs as very or somewhat helpful. Younger children (5-9) who had been exposed to higher quality prevention programs had lower levels of peer victimization and perpetration. But the association did not apply to older youth or youth exposed to lower quality programs. Disclosure to authorities was also more common for children with higher quality program exposure who had experienced peer victimizations or conventional crime victimizations. The findings are consistent with possible benefits from violence prevention education programs. However, they also suggest that too few programs currently include efficacious components.
Preventing Ataxin-3 protein cleavage mitigates degeneration in a Drosophila model of SCA3

Protein cleavage is a common feature in human neurodegenerative disease. Ataxin-3 protein with an expanded polyglutamine (polyQ) repeat causes spinocerebellar ataxia type-3 (SCA3), also called Machado-Joseph disease, and is cleaved in mammalian cells, transgenic mice and SCA3 patient brain tissue. However, the pathological significance of Ataxin-3 cleavage has not been carefully examined. To gain insight into the significance of Ataxin-3 cleavage, we developed a Drosophila SL2 cell-based model as well as transgenic fly models. Our data indicate that Ataxin-3 protein cleavage is conserved in the fly and may be caspase-dependent as reported previously. Importantly, comparison of flies expressing either wild-type or caspase-site mutant proteins indicates that Ataxin-3 cleavage enhances neuronal loss in vivo. This genetic in vivo confirmation of the pathological role of Ataxin-3 cleavage indicates that therapies targeting Ataxin-3 cleavage might slow disease progression in SCA3 patients.
Active photonic integrated circuits

Recent advances in photonic integration technology on InP and related materials have enabled continued growth in the scale, performance and quality of active photonic integrated circuits. Complex widely-tunable transmitters, transceivers, and wavelength converters with state-of-the-art performance have been demonstrated.
Inter-finger coordination and postural synergies in robot hands via mechanical implementation of principal components analysis

Human hands employ characteristic patterns of actuation, or synergies, that contain much of the information required to describe an entire hand shape. In some cases, 80% or more of the total information can be described with only two scalar component values. Robotic hands, however, commonly only couple intra-finger joints, and rarely take advantage of this inter-finger coordination. In this paper, real-world data on a variety of human hand postures was collected using a data glove, and principal components analysis was used to calculate these synergies, resulting in what we call eigenpostures. A novel mechanism design is presented to combine the eigenpostures and drive a 17-degree-of-freedom 5-fingered robot hand. The hand uses only 2 DC motors to accurately recreate a wide range of hand shapes. We also present a design improvement that allows us to distinguish between high-precision and low-precision tasks, as well as greatly reduce overall error.
Balancing hands-on and research activities: a graduate level agile software development course

Agile software methodologies promote developing better software faster and have been gaining popularity in industry. However, agile methods are still unfamiliar in the academic world. While it is important to introduce agile methods to undergraduate students, we believe that having a graduate level course in agile development is as crucial. We offer a graduate level topic course that is dedicated to teaching agile software development while emphasizing both hands-on experience and research activities. In this course, students first work on a series of projects with real customers and then propose and conduct research on topics in agile development. The result of this approach has been well received by students and has stimulated student research interests in the area. This paper describes our experiences in offering the course.
Effect of Age and Caloric Intake on Protein Oxidation in Different Brain Regions and on Behavioral Functions of the Mouse

The objective of this study was to determine if oxidative stress/damage is a possible causal factor in the senescence-related loss of brain functions in the mouse. If such a relationship indeed existed, it was expected that oxidative protein damage would increase with age within regions of the brain associated with senescence-related functional loss, and that calorie restriction, an intervention which retards certain aspects of age-associated functional loss, would reverse such increases. Dietary restriction was found to retard age-associated decline of sensorimotor coordination and improve performance of aged mice on an avoidance learning problem. Protein carbonyl concentration, one measure of protein oxidation, increased from 8 to 27 months of age in most regions of the mouse brain, with the most notable increases occurring in the striatum and hippocampus, regions of the brain strongly implicated in age-associated functional loss. Age-associated loss of protein sulfhydryls was more uniform across brain regions and did not involve the hippocampus. Dietary restriction resulted in reversal of the age-associated regional trends in carbonyl and sulfhydryl concentration, with the largest changes occurring within the striatum. Cross over studies in aged calorie restricted andad libitumfed mice indicated that lowering of carbonyl content by calorie restriction could be induced or reversed within a time frame of 3 to 6 weeks. These findings suggest that the beneficial effects of dietary restriction upon brain function and life span may depend upon its ability to acutely reduce steady-state levels of oxidative stress.
Modeling of volume change phenomena in a Li–air battery

Abstract Volume change can occur in a lithium–air cell due to Li metal oxidation (reduction) in anode during discharge (charge) and due to solubility of reaction product (lithium peroxide) in the electrolyte at cathode. A mathematical model is developed to study the performance of lithium–air batteries considering the significant volume changes at the anode and cathode sides. Moving boundary technique is used to obtain the governing equations for transport of lithium ions and oxygen as well as for liquid phase potential. A numerical method is introduced to solve the moving boundary problem, and the electrical performance of lithium–air cell is obtained for various load conditions. Results obtained from this model are validated with experimental results for Lithium–air cell. Numerical results indicate that volume changes significantly affect the functioning of lithium–air cells. The high solubility of lithium peroxide in the electrolyte can reduce the passivation in the cathode, but it can also reduce the effective reaction area in the anode. However, the benefit of the former outweighs the detriment of the later phenomenon. On the other hand, if lithium peroxide is insoluble in electrolyte, electrolyte leakage can take place due to decrease in total available space for electrolyte.
Foundation officers, evaluation, and ethical problems: a pilot investigation.

Abstract Ethical problems encountered by foundation officers in their evaluation-related work were identified via an email survey of a sample of Council on Foundations member organizations. Of the respondents who had worked with evaluators, one-third indicated that they had faced ethical challenges. Most challenges fell into one of four categories: Evaluation Findings, Internal Functioning of the Foundation, Authorship/Ownership/Dissemination of the Evaluation, and Evaluator-Focused Issues. Conflicts of interest involving a variety of stakeholders were reported. The potential for foundation officers to define “ethical problems” differently from evaluators is raised, and the role that attributional processes can play in descriptions of the sources of ethical conflicts is addressed. The study's findings underscore the practical importance of developing an in-depth understanding of the views of ethical problems held by both foundation officers and evaluators.
Immune system phenotyping of radiation and radiation combined injury in outbred mice.

The complexity of a radionuclear event would be immense due to varying levels of radiation exposures and injuries caused by blast-associated trauma. With this scenario in mind, we developed a mouse model to mimic as closely as possible the potential consequences of radiation injury and radiation combined injury (RCI) on survival, immune system phenotype, and immune function. Using a mouse burn injury model and a 137CsCl source irradiator to induce injuries, we report that the immunological response to radiation combined injury differs significantly from radiation or burn injury alone. Mice that underwent radiation combined injury showed lower injury survival and cecal ligation and puncture (CLP) induced polymicrobial sepsis survival rates than mice with single injuries. As anticipated, radiation exposure caused dose-dependent losses of immune cell subsets. We found B and T cells to be more radiation sensitive, while macrophages, dendritic cells and NK cells were relatively more resistant. However, radiati...
Nearly optimal control of a pilot plant distillation column

A nearly optimal on-off control strategy, previously applied to a rectification column, has been successfully implemented on a full distillation column. The controller employs a linear combination of temperature measurements to adjust the reflux flow rate in order to maintain a desired overhead product composition. A simple relationship between the control coefficients is shown to be characteristic of countercurrent systems. This relationship allows the controller to be tuned on-line by the adjustment of a single parameter, thereby eliminating the need for a dynamic model of the process and for lengthy design calculations. The performance of the tuned on-off controller is compared with that of a tuned proportional plus integral controller and a single measuremnt on-off controller for feed flow disturbances and set point changes. Results show that the multi-measurement on-off control system is superior for both types of disturbances.
Aliens, Ambassadors, and the Integrity of the Empire

In 321 B.C.E., a Roman army led by both that year's consuls was trapped near Caudium, in a defile named the Caudine Forks, the result of a clever strategem devised by the Samnite general Gaius Pontius. According to Livy, writing some three hundred years later, the Samnites had made no plan to capitalize on their good fortune, and so they sent to Pontius's fa ther, Herennius Pontius, to seek his advice. "Let them all go unharmed," he said. The messenger who returned with that advice was promptly sent back. "All right," said Herennius, "kill every single one of them." Un able to decide whether his father had lost his mind, the son had his father brought to the camp, where he gave the same two pieces of advice and justified each. But what would happen, he was asked, "if they are sent away unharmed and conditions are imposed upon them as conquered, in accordance with the law of war (ut et dimitterentur inc?lumes et leges iis iure belli victis imponerentur)?"1 That practice neither makes friends nor
Enhanced activity and stability of Pt catalysts on functionalized graphene sheets for electrocatalytic oxygen reduction

Electrocatalysis of oxygen reduction using Pt nanoparticles supported on functionalized graphene sheets (FGSs) was studied. FGSs were prepared by thermal expansion of graphite oxide. Pt nanoparticles with average diameter of 2 nm were uniformly loaded on FGSs by impregnation methods. Pt-FGS showed a higher electrochemical surface area and oxygen reduction activity with improved stability as compared with the commercial catalyst. Transmission electron microscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and electrochemical characterization suggest that the improved performance of Pt-FGS can be attributed to smaller particle size and less aggregation of Pt nanoparticles on the functionalized graphene sheets.
Biomechanical optimization of bone plates used in rigid fixation of mandibular symphysis fractures.

Purpose To design and optimize a bone plate for fractures of the mandibular symphysis that will provide maximum fracture stability with minimal implanted volume and patient intrusion. The design will be driven by the unique biomechanics specific to this fracture location. Materials and Methods A finite element model of a fractured human mandible was created using computed tomography scans. The boundary conditions included simulating molar, canine, and incisal loading. The bone plate design process included a shape optimization routine and design parameter analysis using the model. The optimized bone plate design was finally compared with standard bone plate configurations according to stress and strain measures. Results Compared with the miniplate combination, the InterFlex III plate, with the same thickness and just 14% more implanted volume, had only 55% of the plate stress and 25% less fracture strain under the strongest loads considered by the model. Compared with the band/fracture plate combination, the InterFlex plate had 88% of the fracture strain and 74% of the plate stress, despite having only 60% of the plate volume. Conclusions The results have demonstrated that the new optimized plate is a hybrid of fixation hardware with the small profile of the smallest miniplate configuration and the superior fixation strength and safety that exceeds that of the larger fracture plate configuration.
A survey of nurses in the mechanical circulatory support programs in the United States

Abstract Objective This study aimed to examine the role of nurses working in mechanical circulatory support (MCS) programs in the United States through a description of role characteristics, including demographic information, qualifications, compensation, job preparation, work setting and responsibilities, scope of practice, contributions to patient care, and organizational outcomes. Methods Surveys were mailed to 189 nurses at 95 MCS programs, with a response rate of 63% (n = 119). However, 11% of respondents did not meet the inclusion criteria, and thus the final sample totaled 106 participants. Results Descriptive statistics and an analysis of contents showed many similarities among the nurses, along with some differences in work characteristics, compensation, scope of practice, and other items. Conclusion The findings in this first national survey illustrate the multifaceted roles and related skill sets required of registered professional/advanced practice nurses in America’s rapidly growing MCS programs. The common use of “ventricular assist device coordinator” as job title for these specialized and highly skilled nurses is incongruent with their role in these programs.
Isolation and Characterization of Human Adult Epithelial Stem Cells from the Periodontal Ligament

We report a novel method for the isolation of adult human epithelial stem cells (hEpiSCs) from the epithelial component of the periodontal ligament-the human epithelial cell rests of Malassez (hERM). hEpiSC-rich integrin-α6(+ve) hERM cells derived by fluorometry can be clonally expanded, can grow organoids, and express the markers of pluripotency (OCT4, NANOG, SOX2), polycomb protein RING1B, and the hEpiSC supermarker LGR5. They maintain the growth profile of their originating hERM in vitro. Subcutaneous cotransplantation with mesenchymal stem cells from the dental pulp on poly-l-lactic acid scaffolds in nude mice gave rise to perfect heterotopic ossicles in vivo with ultrastructure of dentin, enamel, cementum, and bone. These remarkable fully mineralized ossicles underscore the importance of epithelial-mesenchymal crosstalk in tissue regeneration using human progenitor stem cells, which may have already committed to lineage despite maintaining hallmarks of pluripotency. In addition, we report the clonal expansion and isolation of human LGR5(+ve) cells from the hERM in xeno-free culture conditions. The genetic profile of LGR5(+ve) cells includes both markers of pluripotency and genes important for secretory epithelial and dental epithelial cell differentiation, giving us a first insight into periodontal ligament-derived hEpiSCs.
Computation of Statistics Integrals using Subregion Adaptive Numerical Integration

Many types of statistical analysis problems require evaluation of multidimensional integrals in the form $$I(f){\mkern 1mu} = {\mkern 1mu} \int_R {f\left( \theta \right)} p\left( \theta \right)d\theta$$ where θ = (θ 1, θ 2, ..., θ m )t, the integration region R is infinite and p(θ) is a probability density function.
First Session of the Seventy-third Congress, March 9, 1933, to June 16, 1933.

The meeting of the Seventy-third Congress five days after President Roosevelt's inauguration marked the twenty-fifth time in our history that a special session has been called. Critical times have been faced before and remedial measures found, but the hundred days of this session are unparalleled for the speed and discipline with which Congress was brought to face and finish its task, for the political adroitness and firmness of the presidential leadership, and for the extraordinary importance and far-reaching effects of the legislation enacted. With the substantive merits and contents of the measures passed we are not concerned here, but in this session the legislative process is as worthy of consideration as the legislative product.
Plasma Protein Electrophoresis of the Atlantic Loggerhead Sea Turtle, Carretta carretta

The objective of this study was to determine reference intervals for plasma protein fractions of normal appearing, wild Atlantic loggerhead sea turtles, Caretta caretta. Blood was collected into heparinized vacutainer tubes from the following groups of turtles: 1) ten adult males; 2) eleven adult females; 3) ten juve- nile males; and 4) ten juvenile females. Plasma was removed and total protein content of each sample was determined using the biuret method. Plasma proteins were separated using gel electrophoresis and scanned using a laser densitometer. Reference ranges for albumin, alpha, beta, and gamma globulins were established for age and gender classes and statistically analyzed. Significant differences were found between beta globu- lins of adult and juveniles and between juvenile males and females. A subgroup of turtles had electrophoretograms with beta-gamma bridging and a single adult male loggerhead had a prealbumin fraction; however, these subgroups of turtles were excluded from statistical analysis.
Mohs micrographic surgery for the treatment of difficult skin cancers.

Abstract Most skin cancers can be managed effectively using standard therapeutic methods. However, specific subsets of skin cancers--including tumors that are recurrent, large, or aggressive, along with tumors located at sites of functional and cosmetic concern--provide a significant therapeutic challenge. Mohs micrographic surgery offers the greatest potential cor cure of difficult tumors, while providing for maximal preservation of healthy tissue. This paper describes the history of Mohs surgery, the technique, and the indications for its use.
Hemangiopericytoma of the nasal cavity

Only 12 cases of nasal hemangiopericytoma have been reported in the literature. Ten additional cases are presented herein. Surgical excision is the recommended treatment; cryosurgery was used in one of our patients. Four of the tem patients had recurrences, one of which proved to be malignant (with distant metastases to the lung) and was ultimately fatal.
Deoxycoformycin resistant mammalian cells that overproduce adenosine deaminase.

Adenosine deaminase (ADA) catalyzes the deamination of adenosine and deoxyadenosine to inosine and deoxyinosine, respectively. The study of ADA in mammalian cells is of particular importance because of (a) its indicated association with combined immunodeficiency disease in which patients with a deficiency of ADA activity exhibit a loss of both B and T cell function (1); (b) the occurrence of patients with hereditary hemolytic anemia who have a 40-70-fold increase in erythrocyte ADA levels (2); and (c) recent reports that in acute lymphoblastic leukemia high levels of ADA are found in T lymphoblast cells (3). It would be extremely useful, therefore, to have available a model cell culture system in which cells with elevated levels of ADA could be isolated and used to study the regulation and expression of ADA.
Lateral Diffusion of Mitochondrial F1F0ATP Synthase: A Random Collision Model for Proton Transfer and ATP Synthesis

Various concepts of the mechanism of mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation have been developed in the past three decades (for review of these concepts, see Slater et al., 1985). A major unresolved question regarding the mechanism of oxidative phosphorylation is whether delocalized protons are translocated by redox proteins across the membrane as external, bulk phase protons against a concentration gradient to be utilized by F1F0ATP synthase (chemiosmotic) (Mitchell, P., 1961; 1979; Racker, E. and Stoeckenius, W., 1974) or translocated within the membrane as localized protons to F1F0ATP synthase (Williams, 1961; 1983; Malpress, 1984; Westerhoff et al., (1984).
SSO-LSM: A Sparse and Self-Organizing architecture for Liquid State Machine based neural processors

The Liquid State Machine (LSM) is a powerful recurrent spiking neural network model that provides an appealing paradigm of computation for realizing brain-inspired neural processors. The conventional LSM model incorporates a random fixed recurrent reservoir as a general pre-processing kernel and a trainable readout layer which extracts the firing activities embedded in the reservoir to facilitate pattern recognition. To realize adaptive LSM-based neural processors, we propose a novel Sparse and Self-Organizing LSM (SSO-LSM) architecture with a low-overhead hardware-friendly Spike-Timing Dependent Plasticity (STDP) mechanism for efficient on-chip reservoir tuning. A data-driven optimization flow is presented to implement the targeted STDP rule efficiently in digital logic with extremely low bit resolutions. The proposed STDP rule not only boosts learning performance, but also induces desirable self-organizing behaviors in the reservoir that naturally lead to a sparser recurrent network. Furthermore, the SSO-LSM architecture incorporates a runtime reconfiguration scheme for sparsifying the synaptic connections projected from the reservoir to the readout layer based upon the monitored variances of firing activities in the reservoir. Using the spoken English letters adopted from the TI46 speech corpus as a benchmark, we demonstrate that the SSO-LSM architecture boosts the average learning performance rather significantly by 2.0% while reducing energy dissipation by 25% compared to a baseline LSM design with little extra hardware overhead on a Xilinx Virtex-6 FPGA.
Personal Anecdotes as a Pedagogical Device to Motivate Introductory Economics

A personal anecdote is a short narrative about one’s life experiences. When used in the context of teaching introductory courses in economics, it facilitates a vivid, engaging, and memorable way for students to learn fundamental economic concepts. As a pedagogical device, it encourages classroom discussions, motivates students to recognize the relevance and application of economic analysis in their lives, and humanizes the instructor’s persona. Some guidelines and caveats are proffered to enhance its appropriate use.
Measuring the Adjuvant Activity of RNA Vaccines

mRNA has recently arisen as a promising new drug class with the potential to be applied to various therapeutic modalities, including protein replacement and vaccination against cancer and infectious diseases. Numerous approaches have been pursued to develop potent mRNA vaccines, many of them have proved to be successful and have already entered human clinical trials. RNA, especially in vitro transcribed, is extremely immunogenic as it induces innate immune responses through the activation of a variety of pattern recognition receptors. This feature of RNA is potentially beneficial for vaccine development, where antigen-encoding RNA might also function as an adjuvant to elicit potent antigen-specific T and B cell immune responses. Here, we describe the methods that can be used to evaluate the immunogenicity of RNA vaccines in vitro and in vivo.
Fausto dos Santos: The Wonders and Challenges of Blackness in Brazil’s “Mulatto Football”

The death of Fausto dos Santos in March 1939 was replete with moral messages for his contemporaries. A player of skills that earned him the nickname “Maravilha Negra” (Black Wonder) at the first World Cup of 1930 and of a vigorous style that intimidated opponents and teammates alike, he, nonetheless, spent his last weeks wasting away in the interior of Minas Gerais. A late marriage must have brightened this period for him, and newspapers eagerly reported rumors that his illness might abate, but in the end he succumbed to tuberculosis at the age of 34. 1
E-cigarette use of young adults motivations and associations with combustible cigarette alcohol, marijuana, and other illicit drugs

Background and objectives Although the prevalence of e-cigarette use among adolescents and young adults has caught up to or eclipsed that of combustible cigarette use, there is relatively little known about (a) the link between e-cigarettes and other substances and (b) the reasons underlying this increase in e-cigarette use. To address this gap in knowledge, the current study examined associations between e-cigarette use and other substances and identified motives for e-cigarette use among young adults. Methods Participants included an ethnically diverse sample of African American, White, and Hispanic young adults (N = 662; 61% female) who were participating in an ongoing survey-based longitudinal study of health and risky behaviors. Results Hispanic, White, and male young adults reported significantly greater past year e-cigarette use compared to their African American and female counterparts. Bivariate correlations showed that use of e-cigarettes was positively associated with use of combustible cigarettes, alcohol, marijuana, cocaine, amphetamines, inhalants, hallucinogens, ecstasy, and misuse of over-the-counter and prescription medications. Furthermore, e-cigarette users reported a higher prevalence of substance use relative to those who did not use e-cigarettes. The taste of e-cigarettes was identified as an important motive for use. Conclusions and significance Although the potential harm associated with e-cigarettes remains largely unknown, e-cigarettes appear to be a risk marker for the use of substances that are known to pose substantial health problems. Health care providers should screen for e-cigarette use, and youth substance use prevention programs should target the reduction of e-cigarette use with particular attention to addressing their taste appeal. (Am J Addict 2017;26:343-348).
Survival, Functional Status, and Eating Ability After Percutaneous Endoscopic Gastrostomy Tube Placement for Acute Stroke.

Objectives To determine the long-term survival and independence of individuals with stroke and percutaneous endoscopic gastrostomy (PEG) tube placement. Design Retrospective cohort study. Setting A longitudinal nationally representative community-based sample of older adults. Participants Individuals with stroke who had a PEG tube placed (N = 174, mean age 79, 51% female, 29% African American). Measurements Functional status before incident stroke was determined based on data from the Health and Retirement Study (HRS), a national longitudinal survey of community-dwelling older adults, from 1993 to 2012. Hospitalizations for stroke and PEG placement were determined according to Medicare claims. HRS participants were interviewed, and outcomes of survivors interviewed in the 2 years after hospitalization are described. Survival and functional and eating ability of the cohort were examined. Groups were compared according to age and prestroke functional disability in activities of daily living (ADLs) because it was hypothesized that ADL disability would predict worse outcomes. Results In the 2 years after hospitalization, overall mortality was 66%. Fifteen participants survived and regained independent ADL function (9%). Of those who survived to a follow-up interview, 33 (56%) could not eat independently, and 31 (53%) required assistance to walk across the room. Age of 85 and older was associated with worse outcomes (10% vs 29% at 2 years, P < .001), but baseline ADL disability was not. Conclusion In this community-based sample, individuals who had had a stroke and a PEG tube placed had high mortality, and survivors were unlikely to be functional or mobile or to recover eating ability after hospitalization. A palliative care discussion including goals of care should occur before PEG tube placement is considered.
Analyzing Powers for the $^{12}$C ($P$ (Polarized), $P^\prime$) $^{12}$C Reaction at 120-{MeV} and a Test of the Distorted Wave Impulse Approximation

Cross-section and analyzing-power data are presented for the $^{12}\mathrm{C}$($\stackrel{\ensuremath{\rightarrow}}{p}$,${p}^{\ensuremath{'}}$)$^{12}\mathrm{C}$ reaction at a bombarding energy of 120 MeV. Calculations are made in the distorted-wave impulse approximation with an antisymmetrized on-shell $t$ matrix obtained from nucleon-nucleon scattering amplitudes at 140 MeV. The results are in much better agreement with the data for the cross sections than for the analyzing powers. Significant discrepancies with the data at large momentum transfers are found. Analysis of the contributions for the observed ${2}^{\ensuremath{-}}$ transitions shows strong sensitivity to the underlying configurations and appear to be well described by the shell-model wave functions of Millener and Kurath.
Mathematical Techniques for the Synthesis of Heat-Exchange Networks

Chapter 7, Heat Integration, provided graphical and algebraic procedures for the synthesis of heat-exchange networks (HENs). This chapter presents a mathematical-programming approach to the synthesis of HENs. First, the HEN formulation will be presented and solved to attain minimum heating and cooling utility cost and selecting the optimum utilities. Next, a formulation is presented to synthesize a network of heat exchangers that can meet the minimum utility targets. The optimization formulations in this chapter are based on the transshipment formulation of Papoulias and Grossmann. Numerous other methods have been developed for the synthesis of HENs. These methods have been reviewed by Smith, Luo et al., Klemes and Kravanja, Klemes, Noureldin, Rossiter, Majozi, Kemp, Ponce-Ortega et al., Al-Thubaiti et al., Furman and Sahinidis, Shenoy, Linnhoff, and Gundersen and Naess.
Diagnostic Utility of PD-L1 Expression in Lung Adenocarcinoma: Immunohistochemistry and RNA In Situ Hybridization.

Background Programmed death receptor and programmed death ligand (PD-L1) are immunoregulatory proteins. Nonsmall cell lung cancer bypasses the immune system through the induction of protumorigenic immunosuppressive changes. The better understanding of immunology and antitumor immune responses has brought the promising development of novel immunotherapy agents like programmed death receptor checkpoint inhibitors. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of PD-L1 in lung adenocarcinoma (ADC), comparing 2 different technologies: immunohistochemistry (IHC) by 2 methods versus RNA in situ hybridization (RISH). Methodology In total, 20 cases of ADC of the lung and 4 samples of metastatic colon ADC were selected. Evaluation of PD-L1 expression was performed by IHC and RISH. RISH was performed using RNAscope. Both methods were scored in tumor cells and quantified using combined intensity and proportion scores. Results Eight of 20 (40%) lung ADC and 2 of 4 (50%) colon ADC were positive for PD-L1 with Cell Signaling IHC, and 65% lung ADC were positive by Dako IHC (13/20). All 4 cases of colon ADC were negative. When evaluated by RISH, 12 lung ADC (60%) and 1 colon ADC (25%) were PD-L1 positive. Conclusions RNAscope probes provide sensitive and specific detection of PD-L1 in lung ADC. Both IHC methods (Cell Signaling and Dako) show PD-L1 expression, with the Dako method more sensitive (40% vs. 65%). This study illustrates the utility of RISH and Cell Signaling IHC as complementary diagnostic tests, and Food and Drug Administration approved Dako IHC as a companion diagnostic test.
The Real Tales of Hoffmann: Origin, History, and Restoration of an Operatic Masterpiece

When previously undiscovered historical resources come to light, they can have a profound effect in shaping how musicians and scholars view, study, and perform well-known musical works. If such new...
Association With Deviant Peers Across Adolescence: Subtypes, Developmental Patterns, and Long-Term Outcomes.

Indices of deviant peer group involvement are inconsistent and confound type, frequency, and severity of deviant peer behaviors. These measurement approaches thus obfuscate potential meaningful dif...
Telepresence Group Leaders Receive Higher Ratings of Social Attractiveness and Leadership Quality

Telepresence facilitates social presence over geographically separated individuals and is commonplace in modern organizations. However, few studies explore individuals' perceptions of leadership and communication quality when such telepresence technologies are used. With consideration to the Human-to-Human Interaction Script Theory, a two-group posttest experiment was conducted between in-person and telepresence group leaders. Results indicated higher ratings of social attractiveness and leadership quality for the telepresence leader vs. the in-person leader.
Energy and economic growth in the USA two decades later: Replication and reanalysis

Abstract Over two decades ago, Stern (1993) published evidence in this journal of unidirectional Granger-causality running from GDP to a raw measure of energy use, from a weighted measure of energy use to GDP, and of other relations pertaining to labor and capital. In this paper we verify the original results and conduct a two-fold reanalysis: on one hand we revisit Granger-causality using the Toda and Yamamoto (TY) procedure to account for integrated series, and on the other we study super exogeneity to establish causal relations between the series. Our verification exercise confirms the original results, and with the TY procedure we achieve a positive reanalysis of the Granger-causality relations between GDP and energy. Super exogeneity shows that labor and capital cause GDP and energy use, and thus highlight the importance of correctly interpreting econometric procedures. These results enhance the reliability of the energy-GDP nexus literature.
Defect and grain boundary scattering in tungsten: A combined theoretical and experimental study

Several major electron scattering mechanisms in tungsten (W) are evaluated using a combination of first-principles density functional theory, a Non-Equilibrium Green's Function formalism, and thin film Kelvin 4-point sheet resistance measurements. The impact of grain boundary scattering is found to be roughly an order of magnitude larger than the impact of defect scattering. Ab initio simulations predict average grain boundary reflection coefficients for a number of twin grain boundaries to lie in the range r = 0.47 to r = 0.62, while experimental data can be fit to the empirical Mayadas-Schatzkes model with a comparable but slightly larger value of r = 0.69. The experimental and simulation data for grain boundary resistivity as a function of grain size show excellent agreement. These results provide crucial insights for understanding the impact of scaling of W-based contacts between active devices and back-end-of-line interconnects in next-generation semiconductor technology.
Comorbid science? 1

We agree with Cramer et al.'s goal of the discovery of causal relationships, but we argue that the authors' characterization of latent variable models (as deployed for such purposes) overlooks a wealth of extant possibilities. We provide a preliminary analysis of their data, using existing algorithms for causal inference and for the specification of latent variable models.
Are Social Networks a Double-Edged Sword? A Case Study of Defense Contractors

Utilizing a survey of defense contractors in the New England region, this study explores the effect of social networks on business performance—measured by annual employment growth and market divers...
X-Ray and Electron Diffraction for Epitaxial Structures

Abstract This chapter presents high resolution X-ray diffraction for the study of epitaxial materials. The basic principles behind diffraction are provided in terms of a simple reciprocal space formation that includes strained layers, mosaic structure, and in-plane and out-of-plane coherence. This framework is combined with the Ewald construction in order to best interpret results from diffraction measurements, to demonstrate the complementary nature of X-ray and electron diffraction techniques, and to provide a strategy for the appropriate measurements to take for different classes of materials. Examples of diffraction measurements are provided for high-quality single crystal substrates, pseudomorphic single layers, superlattice structures, and multilayer devices, as well as for multilayered structures that possess combinations of strained and relaxed layers. The increasing use of metamorphic structures, development of epitaxy in oxide and other systems, and the need to fundamentally understand the strain state of the layers in a multilayer system suggests that advanced X-ray diffraction techniques will continue to provide insight into crystal growth mechanisms.
Chapter 26 Commonly tested nerves of the pelvic girdle

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the techniques for the electrophysiologic evaluation of the nerves of the pelvic girdle. The pelvic girdle is an anatomical structure composed of the sacrum joined to the two coxal (hip) bones. The pelvic girdle nerves are anatomically related to the pelvis as they traverse to their terminal branches. The following nerves are discussed in this chapter: femoral, lateral femoral cutaneous, medial femoral cutaneous, and posterior femoral cutaneous. The evaluation of the proximal portion of nerves as they course through the pelvic girdle, with lumbo-sacral root stimulation is also reviewed. Although the nerves originate in the pelvic girdle, often making their evaluation difficult because they are relatively inaccessible, it is still important to follow the principles of nerve conduction studies in selecting nerves to be studied and the methodology used to study them. In selecting a nerve for evaluation, it should be clinically relevant and provide clinically meaningful physiological data helpful for understanding the etiology of the patient's clinical symptoms.
Supreme Court Reform: Desirable - and Constitutionally Required

As decisions by — and appointments to — the Supreme Court have become increasingly divisive, many observers have renewed calls for reform. For example, we could replace lifetime tenure with non-renewable terms of 18 years, such that one term ends every two years. That way, less would be at stake with each nomination, justices could not time their retirements for partisan reasons, and appointments would be divided more evenly between Democratic and Republican presidents. Or we could establish a non-partisan, judicial nominating commission. With the legitimacy of the Court at stake, reform to depoliticize the Court seems essential. And whichever reform is promoted, it is generally assumed that implementation would require a constitutional amendment, legislation, or a change in Senate rules. But the conventional wisdom is wrong. There is a sound argument to be made that Supreme Court reform is constitutionally required. In particular, principles of due process and the framers’ original intent provide good reason to think that neither a conservative nor liberal Court majority should be able to impose its views on the country.
Fluorinated hybrid solid-electrolyte-interphase for dendrite-free lithium deposition.

Lithium metal anodes have attracted extensive attention owing to their high theoretical specific capacity. However, the notorious reactivity of lithium prevents their practical applications, as evidenced by the undesired lithium dendrite growth and unstable solid electrolyte interphase formation. Here, we develop a facile, cost-effective and one-step approach to create an artificial lithium metal/electrolyte interphase by treating the lithium anode with a tin-containing electrolyte. As a result, an artificial solid electrolyte interphase composed of lithium fluoride, tin, and the tin-lithium alloy is formed, which not only ensures fast lithium-ion diffusion and suppresses lithium dendrite growth but also brings a synergistic effect of storing lithium via a reversible tin-lithium alloy formation and enabling lithium plating underneath it. With such an artificial solid electrolyte interphase, lithium symmetrical cells show outstanding plating/stripping cycles, and the full cell exhibits remarkably better cycling stability and capacity retention as well as capacity utilization at high rates compared to bare lithium. Here the authors report a simple method to create a solid electrolyte interphase that is tightly anchored onto the surface of lithium metal anode. This artificial structure suppresses dead and dendrite Li and stores Li via formation of alloys, enabling impressive battery performance.
A high-speed metal-to-polymer direct joining technique and underlying bonding mechanisms

Abstract A high-speed friction lap welding (FLW) technique for directly joining of aluminum to polymer is presented in this paper. Experimental results show that a consistent bond quality at the joint interface has been achieved at welding speeds as high as 5 m/min, which can be attributed to the formation of new C-O-Al bonds observed by X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy (XPS), in addition to mechanical interlocking. Lap-shear tests were performed for evaluating joint shear strengths of the welded samples corresponding to different welding conditions. It was found that as long as an interfacial threshold temperature was attained, the actual interface bond strengths are essentially the same regardless of welding temperature and welding speed.
Role of the rate of surface dilatation in determining microscopic dynamic contact angle

The factors determining the degree of dynamic wetting, which is characterized by the microscopic dynamic contact angle, have been the subject of much discussion. In this manuscript, it is analytically determined that the microscopic dynamic contact angle is dependent on the rate of surface dilatation in addition to the thermodynamic surface tension. It is argued that, in the vicinity of a moving contact line, this rate of surface dilatation results in a disparity between the thermodynamic and mechanical surface tensions, which are almost always assumed to be equal. It is also found that, in the case of forced wetting, the difference between the receding and advancing contact angles is primarily due to the rate of surface compression at the receding contact line and the rate of surface expansion at the advancing contact line. These findings, which are validated using molecular dynamics simulations, demonstrate that surface dilatation is an important factor responsible for the deviation of the microscopic dynamic contact angle from its static equilibrium value.