cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Preeclampsia, pregnancy-related hypertension, and breast cancer risk

Pregnancy conditions accompanied by high blood pressure, such as preeclampsia and pregnancy-related hypertension, have been associated with a lower risk of breast cancer in several epidemiologic studies. It is unknown whether length of gestation or multiple occurrence of these conditions alters the association with breast cancer. It is also unknown whether the inverse association between preeclampsia and breast cancer risk is modified by menopausal status at breast cancer diagnosis. Using data from a large, population-based case-control study of breast cancer conducted on Long Island, New York, during 1996-1997, the authors examined these questions among ever-parous women (1,310 cases and 1,385 controls) using multivariate logistic models. Preeclampsia was inversely associated with breast cancer (odds ratio = 0.7, 95% confidence interval: 0.5, 1.0); this association was even stronger among women who had multiple occurrences of preeclampsia (odds ratio = 0.3, 95% confidence interval: 0.1, 0.9). The risk reduction was more pronounced among postmenopausal women. Gestation length did not substantially alter the relation between preeclampsia and breast cancer risk. Pregnancy-related hypertension was also inversely associated with breast cancer risk, but the relations were not statistically significant after adjustment for preeclampsia. These data suggest that pregnancy conditions related to hypertension, particularly preeclampsia, play a role in reducing breast cancer risk. Possible biologic mechanisms underpinning these associations should be further explored.
Metabolic approach in heart failure: rethinking how we translate from theory to clinical practice.

The concept of metabolic modulation in the treatment heart failure has been extensively reviewed in several recent publications ([1–3][1]). Over the past decades, several dugs that have been shown to affect the metabolic processes in the failing heart, including carnitine palmitoyl transferase I
EEG in Prediction of Early Neurodevelopment of Preterm Infants

Researchers at Anjo Kosei Hospital and other centers in Japan and at Washington University, St Louis, MO, USA studied the prognostic value of conventional EEG for the identification of preterm infants admitted to the Anjo neonatal ICU and at risk for adverse neurodevelopment.
Abstract NS17: REM Sleep is Moderately Associated With Off-line Motor Skill Learning in Individuals with Chronic Stroke

Background: Sleep enhances motor skill learning in individuals with chronic stroke. However, the mechanisms underlying over-night (or off-line) motor skill enhancement remains unknown. Stage 2 non-...
Lesser Conservation: The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Proposes Threatened Listing for the Lesser Prairie-Chicken, Then Guts It

The lesser prairie-chicken (Tympanuchus pallidicinctus) is a rare grouse dressed in alternating brown and off-white bands and colorful embellishments for mating, with known habitat in Colorado, Kansas, New Mexico, Oklahoma, and Texas. The species has experienced a rapid population decline as a result of human development, especially agriculture, and is down to only about a tenth of its prior habitat range. Because of this increasing vulnerability, and under pressure to list the species as a result of a massive listing-progress settlement in 2011, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) proposed threatened status in December 2012, 77 Fed. Reg. 73,828 (Dec. 11, 2012). After a comment period on this initial proposal, the FWS proposed the listing again in May 2013, this time adding a “special 4(d) rule” limiting the extent to which the lesser prairie-chicken is to be protected from “take” under section 9 of the Endangered Species Act (ESA), 78 Fed. Reg. 26,302 (May 6, 2013). This article briefly analyzes the impact of this listing.
The effect of the rotator interval on glenohumeral kinematics during abduction

The rotator interval (RI) has been exploited as a potentially benign point of entry into the glenohumeral (GH) joint. Bounded by the supraspinatus, subscapularis and coracoid process of the scapula, the RI is believed to be important in the shoulder’s soft tissue balancing and function. However, the role of the RI in shoulder kinematics is not fully understood. The purpose of this study is to describe the effect of the RI on GH motion during abduction of the arm. Six shoulders from three cadaveric torsos were studied to assess the impact of changes in the RI during abduction under four conditions: Intact (Baseline), Opened, Repaired (repaired with side-to-side tissue approximation, no overlap) and Tightened (repaired with 1 cm overlap). For each group, the GH translation and area under the Curve (AUC) were measured during abduction using an intact cadaveric shoulder (intact torso). GH kinematics varied in response to each intervention and throughout the entire abduction arc. Opening the RI caused a significant change in GH translation. The Repair and Tightened groups behaved similarly along all axes of GH motion. The RI is central to normal GH kinematics. Any insult to the tissue’s integrity alters the shoulder’s motion throughout abduction. In this model, closing the RI side-to-side has the same effect as tightening the RI. Since suture closure may offer the same benefit as tightening the RI, clinicians should consider this effect when treating patients with shoulder laxity. This investigation provides an improved perspective on the role of the RI on GH kinematics during abduction. When managing shoulder pathology, surgeons should consider how these different methods of RI closure affect the joint’s motion. In different circumstances, the surgical approach to the RI can be tailored to address each patient’s specific needs.
Varieties of Envy

AbstractIn this paper I present a novel taxonomy of envy as a psychological state, according to which there are four kinds of envy: emulative, inert, aggressive, and spiteful envy. The first section introduces the intuition that there is more than one kind of envy, together with the anecdotal and linguistic evidence that supports it. The second section proposes and explains in detail a definition of envy tout court. The third section presents a recurring distinction between the behavioral tendencies of envy that have been explained in two distinct ways, one mostly proposed by psychologists, the other discernible in the philosophical tradition. The fourth section argues that these models of explanation track two variables—focus of concern and obtainability of the good—whose interplay is responsible for the existence of the four kinds of envy. The fifth section illustrates four paradigmatic cases and provides a detailed analysis of the phenomenology, motivational structure, and typical behavioral outputs of...
Hormonal Control of Mammary Gland Involution in the Rat.

SummaryEffect of oxytocin, lactogen, and hydrocortisone acetate upon mammary gland involution was studied in rat. LGH retarded involution to a significant degree, by maintaining DNA 48% above control group. HCA at levels of 500 and 1000 μg retarded involution significantly when DNA was related to final BW. OXT by either subcutaneous or intraperitoneal administration was not effective in retarding involution. These hormones, however, appear to maintain some secretory activity of involuting mammary glands. Data also suggest OXT has little influence upon release of lactogen from anterior pituitary.
A novel p53 mutational hotspot in skin tumors from UV-irradiated Xpc mutant mice alters transactivation functions.

A mutation in codon 122 of the mouse p53 gene resulting in a T to L amino acid substitution (T122→L) is frequently associated with skin cancer in UV-irradiated mice that are both homozygous mutant for the nucleotide excision repair (NER) gene Xpc (Xpc−/−) and hemizygous mutant for the p53 gene. We investigated the functional consequences of the mouse T122→L mutation when expressed either in mammalian cells or in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae. Similar to a non-functional allele, high expression of the T122→L allele in p53−/− mouse embryo fibroblasts and human Saos-2 cells failed to suppress growth. However, the T122→L mutant p53 showed wild-type transactivation levels with Bax and MDM2 promoters when expressed in either cell type and retained transactivation of the p21 and the c-Fos promoters in one cell line. Using a recently developed rheostatable p53 induction system in yeast we assessed the T122→L transactivation capacity at low levels of protein expression using 12 different p53 response elements (REs). Compared to wild-type p53 the T122→L protein manifested an unusual transactivation pattern comprising reduced and enhanced activity with specific REs. The high incidence of the T122→L mutant allele in the Xpc−/− background suggests that both genetic and epigenetic conditions may facilitate the emergence of particular functional p53 mutations. Furthermore, the approach that we have taken also provides for the dissection of functions that may be retained in many p53 tumor alleles.
Measuring Service Quality in Hospitals: Scale Development and Managerial Applications

Many of the most important concepts in marketing are multifaceted. Yet, the traditional approach to measuring complex constructs like service quality has proven inadequate. This article uses second order confirmatory factor analysis to validate a domain specific conceptualization of service quality in the health care area. This methodology offers two advantages for managers. First, it allows for analysis of the problem at three levels of abstraction. Second, the underlying theory upon which the conceptualization is based provides important strategic direction for solving identified problems. An illustrative example using economics of information theory is provided.
Constitution and Construction Technique of Color Concrete Cementing Coat Self-cladding

Color concrete cementing coat self-cladding is a new energy-saving technique with excellent performance.The structural design of color concrete cementing coat self-cladding for external thermal insulation and structural design plan of compound wall are researched,simultaneously,the construction process of insulating layer and cementing coat are discussed,and the relevant construction process plans are proposed.
Finding parallel texts on the web using cross-language information retrieval.

Discovering parallel corpora on the web is a challenging task. In this paper, we use cross-language information retrieval techniques in combination with structural features to retrieve candidate page pairs from a commercial search engine. The candidate page pairs are then filtered using techniques described by Resnik and Smith (2003) to determine if they are translations. The results allow the comparison of efficiency of different parameter settings and provide an estimate for the percentage of pages that are parallel for a certain language pair.
Remembrance of things past and concerns for the future.

Stanley G. Schultz received the seventh annual Arthur C. Guyton Physiology Teacher of the Year Award. The following is a speech he delivered as he was presented the award at Experimental Biology '9...
Development of a helicon current drive system for installation in the DIII-D tokamak

A new mechanism for driving current off-axis in high beta tokamaks using fast electromagnetic waves, called Helicons, will be experimentally tested for the first time in the DIII-D tokamak. This method is calculated to be more efficient than current drive using electron cyclotron waves or neutral beam injection, and it may be well suited to reactor-like configurations [1]. DIII-D can provide the conditions and measurement capabilities for a quantitative evaluation. At around 500 MHz, the optimum for DIII-D, an injected power of 1 MW would be adequate for these measurements and provide the equivalent current drive of a 2.5 MW neutral beam source. A “combline” antenna, which consists of many inductively coupled, electrostatically shielded, modular resonators, will be used to couple to the fast wave.
Differential expression of PKC isoforms in fresh and cultured rabbit CCD

Growth of rabbit cortical collecting duct (CCD) cells in primary culture results in a phenotype in which there is a stable stimulation of Na+ transport by arginine vasopressin. Our objective was to determine whether this altered phenotype was associated with altered expression of protein kinase C (PKC) isoforms. Western blot analysis of extracted proteins and reverse transcription-polymerase chain reaction analysis of extracted RNA showed expression of PKC-alpha, -epsilon, and -zeta in microdissected CCD segments and in fresh and cultured immunodissected CCD cells. These techniques also suggested that the rabbit CCD expresses PKC-eta- and -theta-like isoforms, which have not been identified in this species. Growth of CCD cells in primary culture produced no apparent change in the level of expression of PKC-alpha, -epsilon, or -zeta; however, the theta-like isoform was strongly expressed in fresh CCDs but only weakly expressed in cultured CCDs. The putative eta-isoform was more heavily expressed in cultured than in fresh CCD cells. The consequences of altered expression of these two isoforms in fresh and cultured rabbit CCD remain unknown, but the possibility exists that they are involved in the altered arginine vasopressin response of cultured cells.
Emissions of nitrogen‐containing organic compounds from the burning of herbaceous and arboraceous biomass: Fuel composition dependence and the variability of commonly used nitrile tracers

Volatile organic compounds (VOCs) emitted from residential wood and crop residue burning were measured in Colorado, U.S. When compared to the emissions from crop burning, residential wood burning exhibited markedly lower concentrations of acetonitrile, a commonly used biomass burning tracer. For both herbaceous and arboraceous fuels, the emissions of nitrogen-containing VOCs (NVOCs) strongly depend on the fuel nitrogen content; therefore, low NVOC emissions from residential wood burning result from the combustion of low-nitrogen fuel. Consequently, the emissions of compounds hazardous to human health, such as HNCO and HCN, and the formation of secondary pollutants, such as ozone generated by NOx, are likely to depend on fuel nitrogen. These results also demonstrate that acetonitrile may not be a suitable tracer for domestic burning in urban areas. Wood burning emissions may be best identified through analysis of the emissions profile rather than reliance on a single tracer species.
Perioperative morbidity, oncological outcomes and predictors of pT3a upstaging for patients undergoing partial nephrectomy for cT1 tumors

To evaluate perioperative morbidity, oncological outcome and predictors of pT3a upstaging after partial nephrectomy (PN). Retrospective study of 1042 patients who underwent PN for cT1N0M0 renal cell carcinoma between 2007 and 2015. A total of 113 cT1 patients were upstaged to pT3a, while 929 were staged as pT1. Demographic, perioperative and pathological variables were reviewed. We compared the clinico-pathological characteristics, perioperative morbidity and oncological outcomes between pT3a and pT1 groups. Multivariate regression evaluates variables associated with T3a upstaging. Recurrence-free survival (RFS) and overall survival analyses were performed. Survival curves were compared using log-rank test. The pT3a tumors were high complexity tumors (median RENAL score 8 vs. 7, p < 0.01), higher hilar (h) location (27.5 vs. 14.8%, p < 0.01), higher grade (57.5 vs. 38.2%, p < 0.01), and higher positive surgical margins (18.6 vs. 5.8%, p < 0.01. Patients with pT3a had a higher estimated blood loss, transfusion rate, ischemia time and overall complications, though there were no differences in median e-GFR decline and major (Grade III-V) complications. Five-year RFS was 78.5% for pT3a group vs. 94.6% for pT1 group (log-rank p < 0.01). Male gender (OR 2.2, p < 0.01), and R.E.N.A.L. score (OR 2.3, p = 0.01) were preoperative predictors of upstaging. We acknowledge limitations in our study, most are inherent problems of retrospective studies. Perioperative morbidity, after partial nephrectomy, is acceptable in cT1/pT3 tumors in comparison to cT1/pT1; however, upstaged patients had a worse oncological outcome. cT1/pT3a tumors are associated with adverse clinico-pathological features. Preoperative risk predictors of upstaging were higher R.E.N.A.L. score and male gender.
Structure-Function Relationship of Botulinum and Tetanus Neurotoxins

Botulinum and tetanus neurotoxins belong to a general group of bacterial protein toxins with a distinctive characteristics in terms of three structural domains with different complementary functions (Fig. 1). Other toxins of this group include cholera, diphtheria and Pseudomonas exotoxin A. These toxins have a polypeptide segment devoted to establish the binding with the target cell, apolypeptide segment that primarily helps translocate the whole or apart of the toxin across the cell membrane, and a third polypeptide segment which possesses an enzymatic or other putative biological activity capable of interfering with certain biochemical reactions within its target cells. Although the third domain elicits the ultimate toxic action, the other two domains are equally important for the biological action of the cellular toxicity of this group of toxins.
Literature Suggests Information Professionals Have Adopted New Roles

A Review of: Vassilakaki, E. & Moniarou-Papaconstantinou, V. (2015). A systematic literature review informing library and information professionals’ emerging roles. New Library World, 116(1/2), 37-66. http://dx.doi.org/10.1108/NLW-05-2014-0060 Abstract Objective – To provide a systematic review of the emerging or newly adopted roles of information professionals, over the past 14 years, as described in the Library and Information Science (LIS) professional literature. Design – Systematic review of the literature. Setting – Databases featuring information science content, including ACM Digital Library, Library, Information Science and Technology Abstracts (LISTA), Library and Information Science Abstracts (LISA), Citeseer, Google Scholar, e-prints in Library and Information Science (e-LiS), Digital Library of Information Science and Technology (DLIST), Scopus, and Science Direct. The database Library Literature & Information Science Index was not included. Subjects – Through a systematic literature search, the authors identified 114 peer-reviewed studies published between 2000-2014. Methods – The authors searched selected databases using the terms “librarian/s role” and “information professional/s role” to collect literature about the roles of information professionals. The authors searched the selected databases in two phases. The initial search yielded 600 search results and the authors included 100 articles about “roles” information professionals have adopted. The authors excluded articles focused on specific positions, health and medical libraries, librarians’ professional skills, and development of specific programs or initiatives within libraries. In the second phase of searching, the authors refined search terms to include phrases specifically related to the roles identified in the 100 articles initially included in the review. There were 48 articles identified in the second search and 14 were included in the final pool of articles. The authors also cross-checked the references of all included literature. Main Results – The authors identified six roles of information professionals described in the literature during the review period. The role of “embedded librarian” was described in the largest number of articles (42%), followed by “librarian as teacher” (20%), “knowledge manager” (20%), “technology specialist” (9%), “subject librarian” (6%), and “information consultant” (3%). The study did not identify a dominant journal title or professional conference publishing research on information professionals’ roles. Some included literature reported a specific method for investigation, including questionnaires, content analyses, and mixed methods. However, the researchers report that the majority of articles represented personal views or perceptions of the authors. Conclusion – The roles of information professionals are continually changing, both in practice and in description. In particular, information professionals expanded their roles in teaching during the review period, shedding light on institutional and professional priorities.
Intensified insulin for diabetes

Source Citation Reichard P, Britz A, Carlsson P, et al. Metabolic control and complications over 3 years in patients with insulin dependent diabetes (IDDM): the Stockholm Diabetes Intervention Stud...
Tropics of Invention

Some approaches to invention use a version of the classical topoi as a conceptual framework for rhetorical invention. Because of the close relationship that exists between the topoi and figurative language, this article theorizes that the four master tropes can provide a conceptual framework not only for rhetorical invention, but also as principles of selection for constructing entire discourses.
Studies on Papua New Guinea Chiggers (Acari: Trombiculidae) VI. A new species of Toritrombicula

A new species of chigger, Toritrombicula kirhocephales , is described from the Variable Pitohui, Pitohui kirhocephalus (Aves: Passeriformes) from Papua New Guinea.
Visualizaciones de la Maternidad: Historias Fracturadas por la Migracion y Colonialism

En este ensayo muestro como en algunos textos escritos y en varios ejemplos de artes visuales puertorriquenos contemporaneos, bajo el rechazo o reconfiguracion de mitos y modelos tradicionales de la maternidad subyace un cuestionamiento de los sistemas dominantes como el patriarcado, el catolicismo y el colonialismo. Para este analisis me apoyo en varios textos teoricos acerca de la maternidad, como Figuras de la madre (1996) de Silvia Tubert, The Myths of Motherhood (1994) de Shari Thurer y Of Woman Born: Motherhood as Experience and Institution (1986) de Adrienne Rich, entre otros. En estos textos se deconstruyen algunos mitos que existen en torno a esta experiencia y los utilizo en la medida en que iluminan las especificidades de la realidad puertorriquena.
The Fission Yeast S-Phase Cyclin Cig2 Can Drive Mitosis

Abstract Commitment to mitosis is regulated by cyclin-dependent kinase (CDK) activity. In the fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe, the major B-type cyclin, Cdc13, is necessary and sufficient to drive mitotic entry. Furthermore, Cdc13 is also sufficient to drive S phase, demonstrating that a single cyclin can regulate alternating rounds of replication and mitosis and providing the foundation of the quantitative model of CDK function. It has been assumed that Cig2, a B-type cyclin expressed only during S-phase and incapable of driving mitosis in wild-type cells, was specialized for S-phase regulation. Here, we show that Cig2 is capable of driving mitosis. Cig2/CDK activity drives mitotic catastrophe—lethal mitosis in inviably small cells—in cells that lack CDK inhibition by tyrosine-phosphorylation. Moreover, Cig2/CDK can drive mitosis in the absence of Cdc13/CDK activity and constitutive expression of Cig2 can rescue loss of Cdc13 activity. These results demonstrate that in fission yeast, not only can the presumptive M-phase cyclin drive S phase, but the presumptive S-phase cyclin can drive M phase, further supporting the quantitative model of CDK function. Furthermore, these results provide an explanation, previously proposed on the basis of computational analyses, for the surprising observation that cells expressing a single-chain Cdc13-Cdc2 CDK do not require Y15 phosphorylation for viability. Their viability is due to the fact that in such cells, which lack Cig2/CDK complexes, Cdc13/CDK activity is unable to drive mitotic catastrophe.
Evaluation of Finite Element Codes for the Simulation of Aluminum Extrusion Process

In order to provide a “standard” and transferable solution to metal extrusion industry, commercial finite element (FE) codes are used to model the highly non-linear deformation process. This paper focuses on evaluating two commercial FEA codes (Deform3D® & HyperXtrude®) that currently represent the state-of-the art of the technology. This research aims at using finite element analysis (FEA) based simulation to study the effect of geometry on the performance of a porthole die for aluminum extrusion, in order to improve the life of tooling and quality of the final part. More specifically, a systematic evaluation approach is followed to compare the two codes. The comparison was based on a thermo-mechanical simulation that predicts: extrusion load, exit velocity, and exit temperature. A comparison of the accuracy of the prediction of each FEA code with the experimental counterparts was used to conduct the relative assessment and select the best code. Other criteria were also used. It was found that HyperXtrude® is an effective finite element simulator that can support the optimization of process parameters such as ram speed, initial billet temperature, initial tooling temperature and bearing length to ensure balanced material flow in order to eliminate product defects. Deform3D®, on the other hand, is an effective tool that not only can be used to assess the quality of extrusion dies by accurately predicting stress in tooling components to adjust critical parameters such as the welding chamber height, mandrel teeth height, web shape and porthole angle in order to improve the die performance, but also be utilized to visualize and achieve a better understanding of the different forming stages during the extrusion process. In comparison to HyperXtrude®, Deform3D® code is not only capable of handling the flow analysis simulations but is also capable of handling tool deflection analysis for complex die geometries with multiple components of different materials, as it allows the user to mimic the real world scenarios of geometric gaps, press fit and die coating. After selecting Deform3D®, the latter was used to create a simulation model for our particular application, and the model was then further validated.
Model-driven development of safety architectures

We describe the use of model-driven development for safety assurance of a pioneering NASA flight operation involving a fleet of small unmanned aircraft systems (sUAS) flying beyond visual line of sight. The central idea is to develop a safety architecture that provides the basis for risk assessment and visualization within a safety case, the formal justification of acceptable safety required by the aviation regulatory authority. A safety architecture is composed from a collection of bow tie diagrams (BTDs), a practical approach to manage safety risk by linking the identified hazards to the appropriate mitigation measures. The safety justification for a given unmanned aircraft system (UAS) operation can have many related BTDs. In practice, however, each BTD is independently developed, which poses challenges with respect to incremental development, maintaining consistency across different safety artifacts when changes occur, and in extracting and presenting stakeholder specific information relevant for decision making. We show how a safety architecture reconciles the various BTDs of a system, and, collectively, provide an overarching picture of system safety, by considering them as views of a unified model. We also show how it enables model-driven development of BTDs, replete with validations, transformations, and a range of views. Our approach, which we have implemented in our toolset, AdvoCATE, is illustrated with a running example drawn from a real UAS safety case. The models and some of the innovations described here were instrumental in successfully obtaining regulatory flight approval.
An Innovative Modeling Approach for Predicting the Desulfurization Kinetics in an Argon-Stirred Ladle Furnace

The ladle metallurgical furnace (LMF) is one of the most important secondary steel refining equipment to remove inclusions and produce clean low-sulfur steel. With the increasing demand for high desulfurization efficiency in the LMF process, it is very useful to predict the slag-steel interaction and the desulfurization behavior for providing assistance in the industrial process control. In this study, a modeling analysis tool for predicting the slag-metal reactions and desulfurization kinetics in gas-stirred ladles has been developed. The model consists of two uncoupled components: (i) a computation fluid dynamics (CFD) model for predicting fluid flow and slag-steel interface characteristics, and (ii) a multicomponent reaction kinetics model for predicting desulfurization. The slag eye behavior, slag-steel interface area, and mass transfer rates in the LMF were simulated by the CFD model. The desulfurization kinetics were predicted using the CFD simulation results together with the thermodynamic calculations. This approach is validated in terms of the evolution of the sulfur content based on industrial data. As the model can considerably decrease the computational time and cost for the analysis of the sulfur evolution during the LMF processing, it would be a very useful tool for the steel industry for quick and accurate predictions of the sulfur evolution in the ladle refining process.
Ceremonial "plant medicine" use and its relationship to recreational drug use: an exploratory study.

AbstractBackground: The ceremonial use of psychoactive/hallucinogenic plant based drugs, such as ayahuasca, psilocybin and others, is a growing trend in the United States (US) and globally. To date, there has been little research documenting how many people are using psychoactive substances in this context, who the users are, what benefits/risks exist in the use of these drugs and the relationship between ceremonial drug use and recreational drug use.In this paper we describe a cohort of plant medicine facilitators in the US and explore how they differentiate plant medicine use from recreational drug use.Methods: Using modified ethnography, individual interviews were conducted in 2016 with 15 participants who are currently facilitating plant medicine ceremonies in the US. Descriptive content analysis was performed to discover themes and to inform a larger mixed-method study.Results: Ceremonial drug use was seen by participants as a natural healing and treatment modality used in the context of community an...
Specific optical rotation for the identification of the locus of solubilization of chiral molecules in achiral micelles

Abstract We present the first detailed experimental study of discrete wavelength resolved specific optical rotations (SORs) of chiral molecules embedded in achiral micelles. Eight different chiral compounds embedded in SDS and TX100 micelles have been used to analyze their SORs in comparison to those obtained for the same chiral molecules in achiral solvents. An important observation made is that the SORs of hydrophobic chiral molecules, α-pinene and 2-carene, in hydrophobic achiral solvents (dodecane, heptane and CCl4) are greater than those of same chiral molecules embedded in hydrophobic core of SDS micelles. This difference is envisioned to be due to the differences in microenvironments provided by achiral SDS micelle and organic solvents. The ratio of SOR for a chiral molecule in CCl4 solvent and achiral micelles is found to reflect the locus of solubilization of chiral molecule in achiral micelle. The locus of solubilization of chiral molecules in TX100 micelles has been independently verified using 1H NMR studies. The emerging general observations are: (a) when chiral molecule is located deep inside the hydrophobic core of the micelle, SOR in micelle is smaller than that in CCl4. (b) When chiral molecule is located at the interface of hydrophobic and hydrophilic regions of the micelle, SOR in micelle is slightly greater than, or equal to, that in CCl4. While quantum chemical (QC) calculations to explain these observations in micelles need significantly larger computational time line, the prospect for such calculations has been verified by undertaking QC predictions of SOR for a representative chiral molecule, fenchone, in water (with 4 A solvation sphere), and comparing the predicted results with the corresponding experimental observations in water. The predictions and observations are found to be in good agreement. The present results are expected to provide impetus for understanding the microenvironment that influences most of the spectroscopic observations.
Peer Interactions: Extending Pedagogical Deliberations into the Virtual Hallway

The focus of this article was to evaluate a specifically designed digital learning peer-interactive strategy through an e-collaborative web project for reflective engagement with each other and associated academic materials. Data was taken from one semester of participation in an e-collaboration assessing student peer discussions in politics from two introductory American politics classes across two geographic regions of the country. Significant findings reveal that the interactive discussion forums in this e-collaboration engaged students in an academically reflective peer-student and peer-content interactions over the entire semester. The implications of this study are immense, in that a carefully designed digital learning strategy, an e-collaboration, does extend peer deliberative discussions into the virtual hallway, enhancing student deliberative performance. This is one that can be used to complement a variety of disciplines and is a concern to researchers, educators, and universities.
Life's a Beach: Using Role-Playing Scenarios to Facilitate Water Quality Studies

Role-playing scenarios in science education offer students an active way to engage in learning as well as to discover how their decisions as citizens, voters, or policymakers can affect environmental and public health. In this activity, students take on the role of environmental consultants, helping city planners decide the best location for a new recreation area located on the fictional community9s major waterway. The objective of the game is to engage the students in critical thinking to determine the most relevant water tests needed to accept or reject the four proposed locations, given their knowledge of possible pollutants from different land-use activities. Students work in teams to integrate methods used in determining water quality, such as chemical testing, macroinvertebrate surveys, and bacterial monitoring, into a defendable decision for their recommendation. This activity was designed for and tested by high school students enrolled in AP Environmental Sciences and could be modified for undergraduate ecology or biology courses.
A standardized, closed-loop system for monitoring pediatric tracheostomy-related adverse events.

OBJECTIVES/HYPOTHESIS Advancement in neonatal and pediatric intensive care has increased the need for chronic-care interventions, including tracheostomy. It is well established that children with a tracheostomy are at a high risk for adverse events, many of which are preventable. Despite this, there is no standardized method of monitoring tracheostomy-related adverse events (TRAEs). Our objective was to describe and assess a standardized, closed-loop system for monitoring TRAEs. STUDY DESIGN Prospective Study. METHODS A specific tracheostomy-related category was established within the adverse event reporting system in January 2015. Monthly TRAE reports were supplied to the multidisciplinary tracheostomy team (MDT) with descriptions of event type, severity, and preventability. The MDT reviewed events and discussed necessary follow-up. The frequency of events was standardized by inpatient tracheostomy days (ITDs) using an automated monthly list. Adverse events were tracked using a control chart. Aggregated data were divided into biannual reports for analysis. RESULTS Eighty-five TRAEs were reported between January 2015 and June 2017, averaging 5.75 per 1,000 ITDs. Most common events include unplanned decannulation (50%) and improper use of tracheostomy supplies (21%). The frequency of all preventable events has decreased by 76% since the second half of 2015. During this timeframe, minor events have decreased, moderate events have maintained a frequency of less than one per 1,000 ITDs, and only one severe event occurred. CONCLUSIONS This standardized, closed-loop reporting method, modeled after other successful intensive care unit reporting systems, accurately tracks TRAEs. We have observed a decrease in preventable TRAEs without a negative impact on rates of severe events. Results suggest improved quality of care for patients with tracheostomy. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE 4. Laryngoscope, 128:2419-2424, 2018.
An Anecdotal Account of the History of Peptide Stepwise Degradation Procedures

Quite apart from the vast amount of biochemical data it has put at our disposal, the stepwise degradation of peptides and proteins, whereby one amino acid at a time is selectively removed from one end of a polypeptide chain, ranks among the most elegant of chemical manipulations. Thus, the simple alteration of two sets of solution conditions can result in the singular and progressive removal of monomeric units from the peptidyl polymer with remarkable ease and assurance. Although I myself have been only peripherally involved in the field, I have long been fascinated by the simple majesty of the chemistry, as well as by the non-chemical circumstances surrounding the development of the method.
The Laplace Transform

The method for solving a first order linear differential equation \(y^{\prime} + p(t)y = f(t)\) (Algorithm 3 of Sect. 5) involves multiplying the equation by an integrating factor μ(t) = e∫p(t) dt chosen so that the left-hand side of the resulting equation becomes a perfect derivative (μ(t)y)′. Then the unknown function y(t) can be retrieved by integration. When p(t) = k is a constant, μ(t) = e kt is an exponential function. Unfortunately, for higher order linear equations, there is not a corresponding type of integrating factor.
Effect of solution processing on PZT thin films prepared by a hybrid MOD solution deposition route

Lead zirconate titanate, Pb(Zr0.53Ti0.47)O3 (PZT), thin films were prepared by a hybrid metalorganic decomposition (MOD) solution deposition route; the effects of processing conditions on the film structure and properties were investigated. Solutions were synthesized by mixing and reacting Zr acetylacetonate and Pb acetate trihydrate with a solution prepared from Ti isopropoxide, acetic acid and water. Chemical changes in the solution during preparation and solution storage (i.e., aging) were investigated by visual observation and FTIR, and were evidenced by changes in phase content and properties of the final PZT films. Results suggest that Zr acetylacetonate and Pb acetate trihydrate react with a Ti oxoacetate-based precursor, and that this reaction continues during aging at room temperature. The PZT film quality and properties improved with aging time of the solution before deposition. To achieve good properties and design a convenient processing route, an accelerated aging scheme, including a brief aging at 60°C and freezing to prevent further reaction, was developed. PZT films prepared from these solutions had average dielectric constants of ∼1040, loss tangents of ∼0.05, remnant polarizations of ∼26 μC/cm2, and coercive fields of ∼39 kV/cm.
Thermochemical pretreatment of lignocellulosic biomass

Abstract: The development of an economically viable and environmentally sustainable bio-based chemical industry has been largely impeded by the native recalcitrance of lignocellulosic feedstock to thermochemical (e.g., chemical pretreatment) and biological processing (e.g., enzymatic hydrolysis and fermentation). This chapter explores various thermochemical pretreatments that enhance enzymatic digestibility of lignocellulosics by solubilizing, hydrolyzing and chemically modifying individual cell-wall components like lignin, hemicellulose and cellulose. Substrate and pretreatment related factors that influence the effectiveness of the entire biorefinery process, based on the ultimate enzymatic digestibility and fermentability of the treated biomass, are closely examined from an economic and environmental point of view.
The Future of U.S. Capitalism

In this work, Frederic Pryor tries to predict the future of U.S. capitalism through the year 2050. His laboriously constructed arguments, spread out over perhaps too many pages, offer the reader a decidedly downbeat future. Using a model that relies on three main dimensions—degree of governmental influence, degree of economic competition, and degree of social solidarity—he concludes that declines in economic competition and social solidarity may lead to a future where an oligarchic market economy may well prevail. While there is much to agree with in this effort, Pryor’s discussion is disproportionably devoid of the topics that are generally associated with the success of capitalism—namely, the issues of private property ownership, the efficiency of the price system, the role of the entrepreneur, and the benefits of competition. He argues that if capitalism is to survive, then individual self-interest, as we know it, will have to be replaced by a more communal type of decision making—one where people make decisions on the basis of mutual best interest.
АНАЛИЗ КОНСТРУКЦИЙ СКВАЖИН, СРОКОВ ИХ ЭКСПЛУАТАЦИИ ДО ПЕРВЫХ РЕМОНТНЫХ РАБОТ ПО ВОССТАНОВЛЕНИЮ ГЕРМЕТИЧНОСТИ ОБСАДНЫХ КОЛОНН

This paper describes the issues of well cementing quality, service life and types of repairs for restoration of failed leak tightness of casing strings and cementing. The analysis run for more than 100 wells in the Fedorovskaya area, the field Romashkinskoye, provided the data comparing the quality of casing strings cementing by conventional methods and cementing of wells where a profile shutoff device was used.
Best Practices for Teaching Care Management of Undocumented Patients.

Different standards of care for undocumented Latino patients raises ethical questions for teachers and learners. This lack of parity can cause moral distress for both and prompts consideration of whether decisions made on a patient’s behalf are ethical. Teaching advocacy and creating projects and partnerships to improve access and quality of care for this vulnerable population can help fight burnout and improve health outcomes.
Sex, drugs, & rurality: A brief qualitative analysis of rural gay and bisexual men’s substance use sex expectancies

Background: One well documented reason that individuals use alcohol and drugs is the belief that these substances will increase satisfaction of a sexual experience or somehow otherwise enhance the ...
Summing Up an Excellent Year.

As Volume 39 concludes, I would like to highlight some of the special accomplishments of the journal in 2018—including the largest number of manuscript submissions in our history! Because I am writ...
Chapter 13 The term structure of interest rates

Publisher Summary The term structure of interest rates at any time is the function relating interest rate to term. The study of the term structure inquires what market forces are responsible for the varying shapes of the term structure. In its purest form, this study considers only bonds for which default risk can be disregarded, convertibility provisions, call provisions, floating rate provisions, or other special features. Thus, the study of the term structure is regarded as the study of the market price of time over various intervals. The concept of duration is used throughout to simplify mathematical expressions. Continuous compounding is used where possible to avoid arbitrary distinctions based on compounding assumptions. The relations described in this chapter are applied to conventionally defined interest rates or exactly to the continuously compounded McCulloch data. The chapter discusses theories of the term structure. In making plans using the term structure, it is helpful to realize that the term structure on any given date has in it implicit future interest rates called “forward rates.”
Don't Be Fooled by DCIS.

A 46-year-old woman had a routine screening mammogram that showed new calcifications in the posterior left breast. A diagnostic mammogram showed several small punctate calcifications, and a 6-month interval follow-up was recommended.
TinySearch - Semantics based Search Engine using Bert Embeddings.

Existing search engines use keyword matching or tf-idf based matching to map the query to the web-documents and rank them. They also consider other factors such as page rank, hubs-and-authority scores, knowledge graphs to make the results more meaningful. However, the existing search engines fail to capture the meaning of query when it becomes large and complex. BERT, introduced by Google in 2018, provides embeddings for words as well as sentences. In this paper, I have developed a semantics-oriented search engine using neural networks and BERT embeddings that can search for query and rank the documents in the order of the most meaningful to least meaningful. The results shows improvement over one existing search engine for complex queries for given set of documents.
Factors that contribute to effective online nutrition education interventions: a systematic review.

Context The use of the internet and technology as a medium for delivering online nutrition education (ONE) has increased; however, evidence-based studies exploring factors that contribute to best practices in online interventions have not emerged. Objective The purpose of this systematic review was to identify factors that contributed to successful ONE interventions in relation to research studies published between 2009 and 2018. Data sources Following the PRISMA guidelines, relevant studies were identified through PubMed, Medline, Web of Science, Science Direct, and Education Resources Information Center (ERIC) databases. Data extraction Five authors screened and determined the quality of the studies using the Grading of Recommendations Assessment, Development, and Evaluation (GRADE) system and extracted the data from the articles. Data analysis Twenty-seven studies were included: 21 studies were website-based, 3 were delivered through smartphone application, 2 were delivered as online courses, and 1 used text messages. Tailored messages/feedback, interaction between participants and investigators, identification of specific behaviors, use theory, adequate duration, and alignment between stated objectives and activities were factors that contributed to successful online interventions, while comparison bias and the lack of specific details on duration and dosage, tracking system, objective outcome measurements, and follow-up were factors that may have interfered with successful ONE interventions. Conclusions The findings underscore the importance of developing ONE intervention designs that utilize factors unique to online platforms for effective interventions aimed at behavior change.
Why we make the choices we do: Social TV viewing experiences and the mediating role of social presence

Abstract Although social TV viewing research has been growing, there still exists limited information in this area. To further advance our understanding about this relatively new TV viewing practice, the current study explored motives for social TV viewing (e.g. communication, information, enjoyment), social TV platforms (e.g., public, private), social TV engagement (e.g. active, passive), and social presence. In particular, the study examined social TV viewing for the National Collegiate Athletic Association’s (NCAA) March Madness event in the physical co-viewing context by use of an online survey. Primary results found that different motives lead social TV viewers to choose different social TV platforms and to be engaged differently in social TV viewing. Additionally, social presence functioned as a significant mediator between social TV engagement and social TV enjoyment on private platforms. Based on the results, implications for research and practice are discussed to provide a better understanding of how to advance social TV research and keep audiences engaged.