cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Photoluminescence Detection of Biomolecules by Antibody‐Functionalized Diatom Biosilica

Diatoms are single-celled algae that make microscale silica shells called "frustules", which possess intricate nanoscale features imbedded within periodic two-dimensional pore arrays. In this study, antibody-functionalized diatom biosilica frustules serve as a microscale biosensor platform for selective and label-free photoluminescence (PL)-based detection of immunocomplex formation. The model antibody rabbit immunoglobulin G (IgG) is covalently attached to the frustule biosilica of the disk-shaped, 10-μm diatom Cyclotella sp. by silanol amination and crosslinking steps to a surface site density of 3948 ± 499 IgG molecules μm -2 . Functionalization of the diatom biosilica with the nucleophilic IgG antibody amplifies the intrinsic blue PL of diatom biosilica by a factor of six. Furthermore, immunocomplex formation with the complimentary antigen anti-rabbit IgG further increases the peak PL intensity by at least a factor of three, whereas a non-complimentary antigen (goat anti-human IgG) does not. The nucleophilic immunocomplex increases the PL intensity by donating electrons to non-radiative defect sites on the photoluminescent diatom biosilica, thereby decreasing non-radiative electron decay and increasing radiative emission. This unique enhancement in PL emission is correlated to the antigen (goat anti-rabbit IgG) concentration, where immunocomplex binding follows a Langmuir isotherm with binding constant of 2.8 ± 0.7 x 10 -7 M.
The Relationship of Lactic Dehydrogenase to Epithelial Cells in the Urine of Normal Neonates

Urinary lactic dehydrogenase (LDH) isoenzyme assays in 20 female and 15 male normal newborn infants during the first 3 days of life revealed higher levels than in older populations and a tendency toward a "slow zone pattern" (predominance of isoenzymes 4 and 5). Total LDH and LDH-5 activities were higher in the female (33.2 ± 5.2 and 12.4 ± 2.8 mU/mL, respectively), than in the male population (9.7 ± 2.2 and 1.0 ± 0.3 mU/mL, respectively). The amount of LDH correlated with the presence of epithelial cells in the urine that also were prominent in female patients and were apparently derived from the vagina. Separation of epithelial cells by centrifugation and filtration decreased total LDH and isoenzyme activities in the remaining sample, while sonification of the resuspended cells increased TLDH and LDH-5 activities by 6- and 12-fold respectively.Saline washings of the perineum and vagina revealed large numbers of epithelial cells and similar LDH isoenzyme patterns suggesting that contamination of the urin...
Muscle-Specific Splicing Enhancers Regulate Inclusion of the Cardiac Troponin T Alternative Exon in Embryonic Skeletal Muscle

The alternative exon 5 of the striated muscle-specific cardiac troponin T (cTNT) gene is included in mRNA from embryonic skeletal and cardiac muscle and excluded in mRNA from the adult. The embryonic splicing pattern is reproduced in primary skeletal muscle cultures for both the endogenous gene and transiently transfected minigenes, whereas in nonmuscle cell lines, minigenes express a default exon skipping pattern. Using this experimental system, we previously showed that a purine-rich splicing enhancer in the alternative exon functions as a constitutive splicing element but not as a target for factors regulating cell-specific splicing. In this study, we identify four intron elements, one located upstream,and three located downstream of the alternative exon, which act in a positive manner to mediate the embryonic splicing pattern of exon inclusion. Synergistic interactions between at least three of the four elements are necessary and sufficient to regulate splicing of a heterologous alternative exon and heterologous splice sites. Mutations in these elements prevent activation of exon inclusion in muscle cells but do not affect the default level of exon inclusion in nonmuscle cells. Therefore, these elements function as muscle-specific splicing enhancers (MSEs) and are the first muscle-specific positive-acting splicing elements to be described. One MSE located downstream from the alternative exon is conserved in the rat and chicken cTNT genes. A related sequence is found in a third muscle-specific gene, that encoding skeletal troponin T, downstream from an alternative exon with a developmental pattern of alternative splicing similar to that of rat and chicken cTNT. Therefore, the MSEs identified in the cTNT gene may play a role in developmentally regulated alternative splicing in a number of different genes.
Organizational Ethnography: Studying the Complexities of Everyday Life by Sierk Ybema, Dvora Yanow, Harry Wels, and Frans Kamsteeg

Organizational Ethnography offers readers a timely text for expanding on the renewal of interest in interpretive ethnographic studies of organizational systems. The authors of this text envision a ...
Preparation of carbon-13 C disulfide and carbon-13C oxysulfide

Carbon-13C disulfide was synthesized from methane-13C with hydrogen sulfide in a heated quartz chamber. Carbon-13C oxysulfide was made from carbon-13C monoxide with elemental sulfur heated in the presence of sodium methylate.
Tactile learning in resin foraging honeybees

Honeybees harvest and use plant resins in a mixture called propolis to seal cracks and smooth surfaces in the nest architecture. Resins in the nest may be important in maintaining a healthy colony due to their antimicrobial properties. This study had two main objectives: (1) Provide initial insight on the learning capabilities of resin foraging honeybees; (2) analyze the sensitivity of resin foraging honeybees to tactile stimuli to elucidate its possible role as a mechanism behind resin foraging. The first objective provides insight into the phenotype of these bees as compared to other forager types, while the second creates a starting point for further work on behavioral mechanisms of resin foraging. Using tactile proboscis extension response conditioning, we found that resin foragers learned to associate two different tactile stimuli, the presence of a gap between two plates and a rough sandpaper surface, with a sucrose reward significantly better than pollen foragers. The results of differential tactile conditioning exhibited no significant difference in the ability of resin foragers to discriminate between smooth and rough surfaces as compared to pollen foragers. We also determined that the sucrose response thresholds (SRTs) of returning resin foragers were lower compared to returning pollen foragers, but both resin foragers and pollen foragers learned a floral odor equally well. This is the first study to examine SRTs and conditioning to tactile and olfactory stimuli with resin foraging honeybees. The results provide new information and identify areas for future research on resin collectors, an understudied foraging phenotype.
Reset noise reduction in capacitive sensors

Reset noise sets a fundamental detection limit on capacitive sensors. Many sensing circuits depend on accumulating charge on a capacitor as the sensing method. Reset noise is the noise that occurs when the capacitor is reset prior to the charge accumulation cycle. Therefore, it is important to understand the factors which determine reset noise, and how this noise may be mitigated. The purpose of this paper is to show how capacitive reset noise can be reduced during the reset cycle. We present and analyze three circuits that implement the basic methods for directly reducing capacitive reset noise. In addition, we present a time-domain technique for analyzing the time-varying statistics of these circuits. This technique makes use of Itocirc calculus to obtain solutions to the time-varying stochastic differential equations. Theoretical noise calculations and Monte Carlo simulation results are presented for each technique. We show that theory and simulation yield similar results. Finally, we show in the examples that reset noise may be reduced by a factor of 20 or more. We also refer to implemented sensor arrays which achieve these results
3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A reductase in the lobster mandibular organ: regulation by the eyestalk.

Abstract The mandibular organ (MO) of the lobster, Homarus americanus, produces the isoprenoid methyl farnesoate (MF), a compound related to insect juvenile hormone (JH). To better understand the synthesis and regulation of MF, we studied 3-hydroxy-3-methylglutaryl-coenzyme A (HMG-CoA) reductase (HMGR), the rate-limiting enzyme in isoprenoid biosynthesis. Lobster HMGR had a Km of 11.4 μM for HMG-CoA, a Km of 14.8 μM for NADPH, and was at least 2000-fold more selective for this cofactor than for NADH. Lovastatin and mevalonic acid inhibited HMGR, with KI values of 1.3 nM and 25.3 μM, respectively, whereas MF, farnesoic acid, cholesterol, 20-hydroxyecdysone, and progesterone had no effect. Approximately 75% of the HMGR activity in lobster MO was soluble. Similar levels of HMGR activity were observed in all regions of the MO. Eyestalk removal increased MF synthesis and the activity of farnesoic acid O-methyltransferase (FAOMeT, the final step in MF synthesis) in the MO by 10.7- and 5.7-fold, respectively, and caused a 3.1-fold increase of HMGR activity. Injection of the eyestalk ablated lobsters with an extract of two sinus glands (SG), a neuroendocrine organ in the eyestalk, decreased MF synthesis, FAOMeT activity and HMGR activity to 3, 8, and 20%, respectively, of the levels observed in saline-treated animals. The regulation of crustacean HMGR by the SG suggests that the lobster MO is a useful model system for investigating the cellular regulation of HMGR activity.
Supporting exception handling for futures in Java

A future is a simple and elegant construct that programmers can use to identify potentially asynchronous computation and to introduce parallelism into serial programs. In its recent 5.0 release, Java provides an interface-based implementation of futures that enables users to encapsulate potentially asynchronous computation and to define their own execution engines for futures. In prior work, we have proposed an alternative model, called directive-based lazy futures (DBLFutures), to support futures in Java, that simplifies Java programmer effort and improves performance and scalability of future-based applications. In the DBLFuture model, programmers use a new directive, "@future", to specify potentially concurrent computations within a serial program. DBLFutures enable programmers to focus on the logic and correctness of a program in the serial version first, and then to introduce parallelism gradually and intuitively. Moreover, DBLFutures provide greater flexibility to the Java virtual machine for efficient future support.In this paper, we investigate the exception handling aspect of futures in Java. In Java 5.0 Future APIs, exceptions of future execution are propagated to the point in the program at which future values are queried (used). We show that this exception handling model is not appropriate or desirable for DBLFutures. Instead, we propose an as-if-serial exception handling mechanism for DBL-Futures in which the system delivers exceptions at the same point as they would be delivered if the program was executed sequentially. Our approach, we believe, provides programmers with intuitive exception handling behavior and control. We present the design and implementation of our approach within the DBLFuture framework in the Jikes Research Virtual Machine. Our results show that our implementation introduces negligible overhead for applications without exceptions, and guarantees serial semantics of exception handling for applications that throw exceptions.
Changes in Perceptions of George W. Bush's Personality in the Wake of the September 11 2001 World Trade Center Attacks

Using data gathered just before and just after the September 11th terrorist attacks, we examine how perceptions of Bush’s personality changed in the following two weeks. Fifty participants provided ratings of Bush using the California Q-sort at various times before (including immediately before) and after the attacks. At each time interjudge agreement was strong. There was general consistency between the pre- and post-attack assessments, but the common view of Bush shifted in several important ways. Consistent with his soaring popularity, the changes were toward more positive perceptions, even for characteristics unrelated to the attacks. Findings are discussed in terms of possible mechanisms driving the changes in perception. These findings, which are based on careful assessments conducted shortly before the emergence of any hint of what was to come, provide a unique perspective on changes in Bush’s image as they unfolded in the immediate wake of the terrorist attacks.
Patient health literacy and the practice of evidence-based medicine.

The effective practice of evidence-based medicine requires the application of ‘current best evidence’ to individual patient care.1 While there is consensus that it is critical to include patients' individual preferences in medical decision-making,1,–,4 the best way to involve patients in the process is unclear. Patient preferences may be dictated by specific circumstances, such as age, as well as by past experiences and cultural values. Increasingly, evidence shows that both health outcomes and patient decision-making are strongly associated with health literacy,5,–,12 which is not routinely assessed during clinical encounters. Health literacy is defined by the Institute of Medicine as ‘the degree to which individuals have the capacity to obtain, process and understand basic health information and services needed to make appropriate health decisions.’5 Problems with health literacy are common, and the Institute of Medicine estimates that more than 90 million adults in the USA have difficulties reading, interpreting or managing health-related information.5 Low health literacy is associated with poor health outcomes, even when findings are adjusted …
Rapid thermal chemical vapor deposited oxides on N-type 6H-silicon carbide

The electrical characteristics of oxides deposited on nitrogen doped N-type 6H-silicon carbide using rapid thermal chemical vapor deposition are reported. The gases used in the deposition process were silane (diluted with argon), and nitrous oxide. The oxide was found to have an interface state density of 7/spl times/10/sup 11/ cm/sup -2/eV/sup -1/ and a low effective charge density of 1.1/spl times/10/sup 11/ cm/sup -2/. The deposited oxide is compared with oxide grown thermally on N-type 6H-silicon carbide by wet oxidation. The quality of the deposited oxide is found to be comparable to the quality of the thermal oxide. An excellent low thermal budget process to obtain good oxides on N-type 6H-silicon carbide has thus been demonstrated for the first time. >
Using the Physical Examination to Diagnose Patients with Acute Dizziness and Vertigo.

Abstract Background Emergency department (ED) patients who present with acute dizziness or vertigo can be challenging to diagnose. Roughly half have general medical disorders that are usually apparent from the context, associated symptoms, or initial laboratory tests. The rest include a mix of common inner ear disorders and uncommon neurologic ones, particularly vertebrobasilar strokes or posterior fossa mass lesions. In these latter cases, misdiagnosis can lead to serious adverse consequences for patients. Objective Our aim was to assist emergency physicians to use the physical examination effectively to make a specific diagnosis in patients with acute dizziness or vertigo. Discussion Recent evidence indicates that the physical examination can help physicians accurately discriminate between benign inner ear conditions and dangerous central ones, enabling correct management of peripheral vestibular disease and avoiding dangerous misdiagnoses of central ones. Patients with the acute vestibular syndrome mostly have vestibular neuritis, but some have stroke. Data suggest that focused eye movement examinations, at least when performed by specialists, are more sensitive for detecting early stroke than brain imaging, including diffusion-weighted magnetic resonance imaging. Patients with the triggered episodic vestibular syndrome mostly have benign paroxysmal positional vertigo (BPPV), but some have posterior fossa mass lesions. Specific positional tests to provoke nystagmus can confirm a BPPV diagnosis at the bedside, enabling immediate curative therapy, or indicate the need for imaging. Conclusions Emergency physicians can effectively use the physical examination to make a specific diagnosis in patients with acute dizziness or vertigo. They must understand the limitations of brain imaging. This may reduce misdiagnosis of serious central causes of dizziness, including posterior circulation stroke and posterior fossa mass lesions, and improve resource utilization.
Review of Elhauge & Geradin's Global Competition Law and Economics

Professors Einer Elhauge and Damien Geradin begin the preface to their new casebook, Global Competition Law and Economics, by observing that "[n]o one would think of writing a casebook on Massachusetts antitrust law." They then suggest that for similar reasons an approach to antitrust law based on a single legal system is also becoming outmoded. Businessmen, lawyers, and lawmakers must, according to the authors, understand not just their own system but also "the other regimes that form part of the global legal framework that regulates competitive behaviour." This leads them to conclude that "[m]odern antitrust law is thus global antitrust law." While they acknowledge that significant differences remain between U.S. antitrust law and EC competition law, they see these differences as reflecting "different presumptions about how to resolve theoretical or empirical ambiguities," arising in a commonly accepted analytical framework. The authors are therefore convinced that the "combination of laws from varying nations in actual practice provides a truer picture of the overall regime of competition law that now faces multinational players." They present their work as "a book designed to replace more parochial books on basic antitrust law by giving a more realistic sense of the range of issues and analyses relevant to modern antitrust law wherever practised."Given these bold claims, it is appropriate in reviewing this work to consider the validity of the authors' premise that modern antitrust law constitutes, in some meaningful way, a global legal regime. It is also appropriate to discuss the extent to which the materials as presented in the book vindicate the authors' conviction that a global approach is the best way to present basic antitrust law to students.
Measuring Improvements in Performance of Steers and Heifers During Finishing Phases

Abstract Changes in steer and heifer finishing performance impact the relative competitiveness of the beef industry. This study examined improvements in the finishing performance of steers and heifers from January 1990 to December 1998. Data were obtained from monthly issues of the Focus on Feedlots newsletter. Steer and heifer performance were measured using ADG, feed efficiency, the rate of technological change, and the rate of change in total feeding cost. The rate of technological change measured shifts in the production frontier for steers and heifers. The rate of change in total feeding cost measured shifts in the cost frontier. ADG improved 0.99% per year for steers and 0.96% per year for heifers. Feed efficiency improved 0.60% per year for steers and 0.72% per year for heifers. The rate of technological change averaged 0.58% per year for steers and 1.01% per year for heifers. The positive rates of technological change indicated that the rate of change in BW gain was greater than the rate of change in feed fed. Total feeding cost for heifers increased by 0.63% per year. For steers, the rate of change in total feeding costs was positive, but insignificant. The higher rate of cost increase for heifers was the result of relatively large increases in BW gain for heifers during the study.
MEMS devices for flow control

What is presented here are two basic MEMS devices for flow sensing and control. The first device is a surface shear-stress sensor that is small, sensitive, fast and arrayable. The device has a structure of a polysilicon resistor on a 1.2 ^im thick silicon-nitride diaphragm (200 x 200 urn) which is on top of a vacuum cavity. The device has a shearstress sensitivity of 15 mV/Pa and a constanttemperature bandwidth of 10 kHz at a power of 10 mW. The second device is an electromagnetic flap that is strong, fast and also arrayable. The actuators has a flap structure hinged with silicon-nitride beams and the flap size is either 1 x 1 mm or 2 x 2 mm. The actuators can provide an out-of-plane motion with an actuating torque resulting from an on-flap magnetic moment (from permalloy and/or electrical coils) interacting with an external magnetic field. The out-of-plane force from the flap can be as high as 100 nN d the flap rotational angle up to 80 degrees.
Characteristics of affected third parties and cooperative behavior in social dilemmas

The studies described in this article explore the influence of an under-emphasized determinant of cooperative behavior in social dilemmas: affected third parties. Two experiments examined the effect of characteristics of third parties on individual cooperative behavior in social dilemmas, and identified mechanisms associated with these relationships. Study 1 demonstrated that third-party need affects individual cooperative behavior, and tested prosocial motivation and intra-group trust as mediators of this relationship. Study 2 provided further elaboration by demonstrating that individual cooperative behavior was reduced when a needy third party was low on reliability, and by showing that prosocial motivation and intra-group trust mediated this relationship. This research connects the literatures on individual cooperation in social dilemmas and relational job design, and demonstrates why third parties influence individuals' cooperative behavior.
Use of clozapine in Texas state mental health facilities

Clozapine-use patterns in facilities operated by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation are reported. Data collected by manual and automated tracking systems from January 1990 through July 1992 were analyzed to determine patient demographics, the number of patients started on clozapine and the number who stopped taking the drug, the reasons for discontinuation, and other variables. Of 852 clozapine recipients still in the departmental system by the end of the study period, 134 (16%) had discontinued the drug by that date. There were no significant differences in gender, age, or race between the patients who discontinued the therapy and those who did not. Almost one fourth of the patients who discontinued clozapine therapy did so within the first month, and more than 90% did so within the first year. The most common reasons for discontinuing the medication were lack of clinical response, patient refusal or request, and adverse effects, including agranulocytosis. More women than men discontinued the drug because of adverse effects. Although relatively few patients discontinued clozapine during the study period, many had only recently begun taking the drug, and some of these may discontinue it in the near future. Of 852 clozapine-treated patients served by the Texas Department of Mental Health and Mental Retardation between January 1990 and July 1992, 16% discontinued the therapy. One fourth of these did so within the first month of treatment.
Quantitative Frequency-Domain Passive Cavitation Imaging

Passive cavitation detection has been an instrumental technique for measuring cavitation dynamics, elucidating concomitant bioeffects, and guiding ultrasound therapies. Recently, techniques have been developed to create images of cavitation activity to provide investigators with a more complete set of information. These techniques use arrays to record and subsequently beamform received cavitation emissions, rather than processing emissions received on a single-element transducer. In this paper, the methods for performing frequency-domain delay, sum, and integrate passive imaging are outlined. The method can be applied to any passively acquired acoustic scattering or emissions, including cavitation emissions. To compare data across different systems, techniques for normalizing Fourier transformed data and converting the data to the acoustic energy received by the array are described. A discussion of hardware requirements and alternative imaging approaches is additionally outlined. Examples are provided in MATLAB.
Deciphering Sources of Variability in Clinical Pathology: It’s Not Just about the Numbers

Preanalytical variables can have significant impacts on clinical pathology parameters evaluated during the conduct of a nonclinical safety or toxicity study. These preanalytical variables can be controlled by careful attention to factors such as animal dietary status (diet composition, fasted, and fed state), restraint and anesthesia, intercurrent procedures, timing of clinical pathology collections, and proficiency of animal technicians. The impact of preanalytical variables on test results can be significant enough to result in difficult interpretations and/or regulatory questions or can obfuscate the effects of a test article. Control of preanalytical variables starts with knowledge of what processes and procedures impact test results. Minimizing these effects improves the quality of results and maximizes the value of the study.
Modifiable Risk Factors Versus Age on Developing High Predicted Cardiovascular Disease Risk in Blacks

Background Clinical guidelines recommend using predicted atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease (ASCVD) risk to inform treatment decisions. The objective was to compare the contribution of changes in modifiable risk factors versus aging to the development of high 10‐year predicted ASCVD risk. Methods and Results A prospective follow‐up was done of the Jackson Heart Study, an exclusively black cohort at visit 1 (2000–2004) and visit 3 (2009–2012). Analyses included 1115 black participants without high 10‐year predicted ASCVD risk ( Conclusions Increases in systolic blood pressure and antihypertensive medication initiation are major contributors to the development of high 10‐year predicted ASCVD risk in blacks, particularly among younger adults.
Abstract 1805: Audio Analysis of Pauses during CPR Delivered by Hospital Responders

Background: Recent investigations have suggested that pauses during chest compression delivery are common and longer than expected, and that they may have serious consequences for hemodynamics during CPR. There are no published data characterizing the etiology and duration of these pauses during actual resuscitation attempts. Objectives: To characterize the nature and duration of pauses in chest compressions as administered by health care providers and test the hypothesis that pauses for pulse checks are longer than for other pause etiologies. Methods: A prospective, observational study was conducted using a commercially available monitor/defibrillator with CPR and audio recording capabilities (MRx-QCPR, Phillips Medical Systems) during in-hospital cardiac arrests at a tertiary care medical center from 4/2006 until 8/2006. The audio recordings from each pause in chest compressions were transcribed. Etiology of the pause was determined by three independent investigators, blinded to the duration of the pause. Results: Audio recordings from 109 total pauses were analyzed from 12 consecutive arrests containing discernable audio transcripts with a mean pause time of 13.8±9.3 seconds and an average of 9±6 pauses recorded per arrest. Pulse checks were noted in 44% of the pauses, which had significantly longer pause times than pauses not attributable to pulse checks (16.1±10.4 vs. 12.1±7.8 sec. sec; p=0.03). Other pause etiologies included those surrounding defibrillation (mean pause duration: 14.3±11.8 sec; n=15), as well as those for intubation, rescuer rotation, and central line placement. Conclusions: Pauses in CPR occur for a variety of reasons besides pulse checks, and have hemodynamically relevant durations. Our results demonstrate that pauses for pulse checks are longer than pauses for other reasons. Human performance issues during CPR (such as difficulties with pulse evaluation) may play a large role in resuscitation quality, underscoring the need for objective monitoring and reporting of CPR delivery.
Mesoscale modeling of smoke transport from equatorial Southeast Asian Maritime Continent to the Philippines: First comparison of ensemble analysis with in situ observations

Atmospheric transport of smoke from equatorial Southeast Asian Maritime Continent (Indonesia, Singapore, and Malaysia) to the Philippines was recently verified by the first-ever measurement of aerosol composition in the region of the Sulu Sea from a research vessel named Vasco. However, numerical modeling of such transport can have large uncertainties due to the lack of observations for parameterization schemes and for describing fire emission and meteorology in this region. These uncertainties are analyzed here, for the first time, with an ensemble of twenty-four WRF-Chem simulations. The ensemble reproduces the time series of observed surface non-sea-salt PM2.5 concentrations observed from the Vasco vessel during 17 - 30 September 2011, and overall agrees with satellite (CALIPSO and MODIS) and AERONET data. The difference of meteorology between NCEP's FNL and ECMWF's ERA renders the biggest spread in the ensemble (up to 20 µg m-3 or 200% in surface PM2.5), with FNL showing systematically superior results. The second biggest uncertainty is from fire emissions; the 2-day maximum FLAMBE emission is superior than the instantaneous one. While Grell-Devenyi (G3) and Betts-Miller-Janjic (BMJ) cumulus schemes only produce a difference of 3 µg m-3 of surface PM2.5 over the Sulu Sea, the ensemble mean agrees best with CMORPH's spatial distribution of precipitation. Simulation with FNL-G3, 2-day maximum FLAMBE and 800-m injection height outperforms other ensemble members. Finally, the global transport model (NAAPS) outperforms all WRF-Chem simulations in describing smoke transport on 20 Sep. 2011, suggesting the challenges to model tropical meteorology at mesoscale and finer scale.
The association of inherited variation in the CLOCK gene with breast cancer tumor grade

Background Sufficient sleep and maintenance of circadian rhythm are important to health. We have shown that short duration of sleep before diagnosis is associated with higher-grade tumors among breast cancer patients. Earlier studies suggest that genetic variation in the CLOCK gene is associated with risk of cancers, including breast cancer. Studies of the association of genetic variation, including in CLOCK, and tumor grade, a standard marker of tumor aggressiveness, are lacking. Methods We investigated the relationship between single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in the CLOCK gene and tumor grade and estrogen receptor, progesterone receptor, and human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 status in 293 breast cancer patients. Nine SNPs were determined by standard TaqMan assays. Tumor grade, receptor status, and other clinical variables were abstracted from medical records. Results Two SNPs were excluded because of poor genotyping performance. None of the remaining seven variants had a statistically significant association with breast cancer tumor grade or with receptor status. Conclusion As with all novel studies, further work is needed to examine the association of CLOCK and other genes in the circadian rhythm pathway with breast cancer tumor grade in other populations.
Constrained Buckling of Variable Length Elastica: Solution by Geometrical Segmentation

Abstract The paper proposes a method to analyze the post-buckling response of a planar elastica subjected to unilateral constraints. The method rests on assuming a deformed shape of the elastica that is consistent with an assumed buckling mode and given unilateral constraints, and on uniquely segmenting the elastica so that each segment is a particular realization of the same canonical problem. An asymptotic solution of the canonical problem, which is characterized by clamped–pinned boundary conditions, is derived using a perturbation technique. The complete solution of the constrained elastica is constructed by assembling the solution for each segment. It entails solving a nonlinear system of algebraic equations that embodies the continuity conditions between the segments and the contact constraints. The method is then applied to analyze the post-buckling response of a planar weightless elastica compressed inside two rigid frictionless horizontal walls. The length of the elastica could be either constant, or variable, but the focus of the analysis is on the response of a variable length elastica, which is gradually inserted inside the conduit. In the insertion problem, a configurational force is generated at the insertion point, which is not present in the classical problem of a constant length elastica (Bigoni et al., 2015). The proposed approach is shown to lead to a simple and accurate numerical technique to simulate the constrained buckling of an elastica. The optimal sequence of equilibrium configurations of the elastica associated with a monotonic force- or displacement-control loading is deduced in accordance with the principle of minimum energy.
Stopcocks for Infusion Therapy: Evidence and Experience

Stopcocks have been used for decades to deliver infusion therapy in patients of all ages and in all health care settings. During the past 20 years, a growing number of studies have validated concern about the risk of the open lumen allowing intraluminal contamination. Additional studies highlight fluid flow dynamics associated with stopcocks. This integrative literature review and clinician practice survey analyzes the published evidence and reports of actual practices with stopcocks, and raises issues about practice changes that could reduce these risks.
State-Resolved Metal Nanoparticle Dynamics Viewed through the Combined Lenses of Ultrafast and Magneto-optical Spectroscopies

ConspectusElectronic carrier dynamics play pivotal roles in the functional properties of nanomaterials. For colloidal metals, the mechanisms and influences of these dynamics are structure dependent. The coherent carrier dynamics of collective plasmon modes for nanoparticles (approximately 2 nm and larger) determine optical amplification factors that are important to applied spectroscopy techniques. In the nanocluster domain (sub-2 nm), carrier coupling to vibrational modes affects photoluminescence yields. The performance of photocatalytic materials featuring both nanoparticles and nanoclusters also depends on the relaxation dynamics of nonequilibrium charge carriers. The challenges for developing comprehensive descriptions of carrier dynamics spanning both domains are multifold. Plasmon coherences are short-lived, persisting for only tens of femtoseconds. Nanoclusters exhibit discrete carrier dynamics that can persist for microseconds in some cases. On this time scale, many state-dependent processes, inc...
Information Systems Research as Design: Identity, Process, and Narrative

Information systems research has moved beyond the antagonistic dualisms that dominated its discourse over the last 20 years. Our community is now largely inclusive of diverse research traditions, and without a strong dogma. But it is also experiencing an identity crisis. Scholars are asking what the information systems field is or should be, and where it is going or should go. In this paper, we argue that such questions, although understandable as sense-making devices, are fundamentally misdirected because they ask about the things that should be part of our identity rather than the process through which we should construct it. As an alternative to this search for identity through the identification of things with which to align, we propose that a better way forward is to appreciate that researchers are designers. Viewing researchers as designers allows our identity to emerge from the unique and critical processes whereby we both reflect and shape the socio-technical world, as well as establish our position in an intellectual field. Viewing the researcher as designer leads to a questioning of the structurational processes in which researchers are, at the same time, both representing the socio-technical world (it is our medium) and shaping it through our knowledge generation (it is our outcome). Our ongoing choice of theories, methods, artifacts, and subjects becomes a fateful, existential choice of our identity, for which we should assume responsibility in the reflexive monitoring of our research conduct. The narratives we accept or resist in making our studies of information systems constitute our identity, as well as that of our field and of our subjects. The way forward is to take responsibility for maintaining a dynamic balance in the existential choices through which we bring ourselves as researchers, our research subjects, and the socio-technical world into being.
Stereotypy, Self-Injury, and Related Abnormal Repetitive Behaviors

Stereotyped behavior appears to be foremost among the varieties of aberrant behavior exhibited by individuals with mental retardation and autism (Bartak & Rutter, 1976; Bodfish, Symons, Parker, Lewis, 2000; Rojahn, 1986). Stereotyped behavior (STY) and self-injurious behavior (SIB) have been the focus of considerable research and clinical attention over the past several decades. As a result, distinct changes in the conceptualization of the phenomenology, pathogenesis, and treatment of STY and SIB have occurred. Phenomenologically, STY and SIB are no longer viewed as discrete, unrelated forms of aberrant behavior but instead are now viewed as part of the spectrum of abnormal repetitive behavior that is a common feature of neurodevelopmental disorders like mental retardation and autism (Cooper & Dourish, 1990; Lewis & Bodfish, 1998). Also, models of the pathogenesis of STY and SIB have shifted from a dichotomy of “nature’’ (e.g., brain-based) and “nurture’’ (e.g., learned, environmentally mediated) to more integrated models of that encompass both biological (e.g., genetic, neurological) and behavioral (e.g., environmental, psychological) factors (Lewis et al., 1996). Finally, treatment models that were based on the early notion of brain versus behavior have now been replaced by more integrated biobehavioral approaches that emphasize the combined role of behavioral/educational interventions and biomedical treatments. These shifts in the conceptualization and treatment of STY and SIB have brought about improved prognoses for persons with mental retardation and autism who display these forms of aberrant behavior. In this chapter,
Diffraction effects in weakly nonlinear detonation waves

In the limit of small heat release, large activation energy and weak nonlinearity, the propagation of detonation waves obeys a Geometrical Optics approximation. These equations develop caustic singularities, where the approximation fails. Here we present a derivation of a modified set of equations for weakly nonlinear detonation waves incorporating lateral diffraction effects. The modified set of equations does not fail at caustics.
‘Heroin is the devil’: addiction, religion, and needle exchange in the rural United States

Like many rural and suburban counties in the Midwestern United States, George County, Indiana is facing increased rates of heroin use, drug-related overdose, and hepatitis C. Following an outbreak ...
Numerical investigation of strained extinction at engine-relevant pressures: Pressure dependence and sensitivity to chemical and physical parameters for methane-based flames

Abstract Resistance to extinction by stretch and and laminar flame speed are important properties of any combustible mixture. Recent work has shown that extinction by stretch controls the overall structure of several important types of methane-based turbulent flames. The parameter used to quantify this phenomena, Extinction Strain Rate (ESR), is numerically studied here for methane-based flames across a range of pressures relevant to gas turbines and internal combustion engines, 1-40 atm. The pressure trends are compared with those of laminar flame speed which is historically better studied. Current kinetic models agree that ESR of lean flames is a non-monotonic function of pressure and that ESR of rich flames increases significantly with pressure, but are found to differ significantly in their numerical predictions of ESR, particularly at higher pressures. To better identify the source of model prediction differences and what governs the overall accuracy of the ESR predictions, various model sensitivity analyses were conducted. Pressure-dependent kinetics are shown to be vital to determining ESR pressure trends as are molecular collision efficiencies. Yet, reactions sensitivities for ESR largely mirror those for laminar flame speed calculations. Sensitivity to the transport parameter, Lennard Jones diameter, significantly exceeds reaction sensitivities for the fuel, oxidizer and bath gas. Thermodynamic parameter ESR sensitivities vary widely with pressure, but at least for enthalpy, appear insignificant when uncertainties are considered. This study informs and motivates further efforts to understand the phenomena of flame extinction by stretch at elevated pressures.
Approximations for Two-Dimensional Variable Window Scan Statistics

In this chapter, approximations for distributions of a two- dimensional maximum scan score-type statistic and a minimum p-value scan statistic are derived for independent and identically distributed binomial and Poisson observations. Both unconditional and conditional models are considered. For the conditional models, it is assumed that the total number of observations in the region is known. Numerical results are presented to evaluate the accuracy of the specified probability of Type I error and to compare the power of these variable window-type scan statistics with fixed single window scan statistics.
Endovenous Glue-Induced Thrombosis in Nonthermal Glue Closure Therapy for Greater Saphenous Vein Insufficiency: A Single-Center Experience

Abstract A retrospective analysis of endovenous glue-closure therapy (EVGC) performed in 76 greater saphenous veins (GSVs) from February 2016 to December 2017 was conducted to assess the incidence and characteristics of endovenous glue-induced thrombosis (EGIT), a phenomenon unique to nonthermal EVGC for GSV insufficiency. Kabnick and Lawrence classifications for endovenous heat-induced thrombosis were adopted. Seven instances of EGIT were detected among 54 patients (13%), with median/mode Kabnick and Lawrence classifications of 2/2 and 4/5, respectively. EGIT resolved with observation within an average of 5.2 wk after detection (range, 2–8 wk) without deep vein thrombosis or pulmonary embolism. EGIT was associated with significantly greater mean age (+7.75 y; P = .0308).
The Far-Infrared Background Correlation with CMB Lensing

The intervening large--scale structure distorts cosmic microwave background (CMB) anisotropies via gravitational lensing. The same large--scale structure, traced by dusty star--forming galaxies, also induces anisotropies in the far--infrared background (FIRB). We investigate the resulting inter--dependence of the FIRB and CMB with a halo model for the FIRB. In particular, we calculate the cross--correlation between the lensing potential and the FIRB. The lensing potential can be quadratically estimated from CMB temperature and/or polarization maps. We show that the cross--correlation can be measured with high signal--to--noise with data from the Planck Surveyor. We discuss how such a measurement can be used to understand the nature of FIRB sources and their relation to the distribution of dark matter.
Dis/capacidad, movimiento social y tecnología: una genealogía de las prácticas discursivas del cuerpo disidente de la modernidad

espanolEste articulo explora las practicas discursivas de la red de relaciones que el movimiento social de dis/capacidad construye, desde la decada de los sesenta en adelante en el contexto anglosajon, para ingresar en el juego politico de la modernidad, del cual ha sido historicamente excluido como lo otro del sujeto racional, autonomo y propietario de derechos democraticos de la sociedad capitalista. Contra un principio juridico abstracto aliado al biopoder medico normalizador, se despliegan los saberes encarnados de activistas, en demanda del reconocimiento y ejercicio de derechos fundamentales denegados. La institucionalizacion politica y academica de perspectivas comprensivas liberales y normalizadoras de la dis/capacidad, junto al desarrollo de teorias materialistas, conviven con la emergencia de un nuevo activismo. En la relacion encarnada de subjetividad y tecnologia, este movimiento emergente sostiene un nuevo entendimiento sobre los cuerpos y la posibilidad de su disidencia, mediante practicas que condicionan la posibilidad de una resistencia no hegemonica. Esto, al subvertir codigos racionales de comunicacion y lenguaje, que le permiten disputar la representacion del universal concreto del sujeto moderno y autonomo de derechos. EnglishThis article explores the discursive practices of the network of relationships that the social dis/ability movement builds, from the sixties onwards in the anglo-saxon context, to enter the political game of modernity from which it has historically been excluded, as the other of the rational, autonomous and democratic rights owner of capitalist society. Against an abstract legal principle allied to normalizing medical biopower, the incarnate knowledge of activists is deployed, demanding recognition and exercise of previously denied fundamental rights. The political and academic institutionalization of comprehensive liberal and normalizing perspectives of dis/ability, together with the development of materialistic theories, coexist with the emergence of a new activism. In the incarnated relationship of subjectivity and technology, this emerging movement sustains a new understanding of bodies and the possibility of their dissent, through practices that condition the possibility of a non hegemonic resistance. This, by subverting rational codes of communication and language, which allow the representation’s dispute of the universal concrete of the modern and autonomous legal rights subject.