cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Multiple-Objective Decision Analysis for Terrorism Protection: Potassium Iodide Distribution in Nuclear Incidents

This paper presents a multiple-objective decision analysis approach to qualitatively and quantitatively evaluate different potassium iodide (KI) distribution plans for a hypothetical local region. We developed this approach for a U.S. National Research Council committee that was charged with figuring out the best means for protecting people against potential thyroid cancer resulting from the release of radioactive iodine from nuclear incidents occurring due to terrorism or accidents. We first identify an objectives hierarchy and then develop the single-attribute value functions and the weights for the objectives using a swing weight method. The identification of the largest value gaps between the status quo and the ideal situation helps to develop potential KI distribution plans. We then use an additive value function to assess the performance of these new alternatives, with the status quo as a benchmark, by computing their overall values. Finally, sensitivity analysis for the KI problem shows how this approach can create more key insights for the improvement of health and safety decision-making processes.
Interaction Effects in Mixed-Member Electoral Systems Theory and Evidence From Germany, Japan, and Italy

The past decade has witnessed a surprising growth in the popularity of mixed-member electoral systems. Under these systems, voters choose representatives simultaneously under both proportional representation (PR) and single-member district plurality (SMDP) rules. It is widely accepted that SMDP rules tend to winnow competition down toward two large parties, and evidence from mixed systems suggests that this Duvergerian “gravity” reduces the number of parties surviving SMDP competition under mixed systems as well. Nevertheless, we argue, simultaneous balloting under PR rules softens this winnowing effect, operating as a “centrifugal force” that prevents Duvergerian gravity from reducing competition to the degree it does under pure SMDP systems. Thus, these newsystems produce effects unanticipated by their designers. To test for the presence of this centrifugal force, we examine elite-level electoral strategies in Germany, Japan, and Italy and compare district-level SMDP election results from pure systems w...
Tin oxide nanosensor fabrication using AC dielectrophoretic manipulation of nanobelts

Nanobelts are a new class of semiconducting metal oxide nanowires. The ribbon-like nanobelts are chemically pure and structurally uniform single crystals, with clean, sharp, smooth surfaces, and rectangular cross-sections. Positive and negative dielectrophoresis (DEP) was demonstrated for the first time on semiconducting oxide nanobelts. This effect was then used for the fabrication of a nanodevice, which consisted of SnO2 nanobelts attached to castellated gold electrodes defined on a glass substrate, and covered by a microchannel. The SnO 2 nanobelts (width ∼ 100–300 nm, thickness ∼ 30–40 nm) were suspended in ethanol and introduced into the microchannel. An alternating (AC) voltage of ∼9.8 V peak to peak, with variable frequency, was applied between the electrodes (minimum electrode gap ∼ 20m), which corresponds to an average electric field strength of less than 2.5 × 10 5 V/m. In the 10 Hz–1 kHz range, repulsion between the nanobelts and the electrodes occurred, while in the 1–10 MHz range, attraction was observed. Once the nanobelts touched the electrodes, those that were sufficiently long bridged the electrode gaps. The device was characterized and can potentially be used as a nanosensor. © 2005 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.
Real, tight frames with maximal robustness to erasures

Motivated by the use of frames for robust transmission over the Internet, we present a first systematic construction of real tight frames with maximum robustness to erasures. We approach the problem in steps: we first construct maximally robust frames by using polynomial transforms. We then add tightness as an additional property with the help of orthogonal polynomials. Finally, we impose the last requirement of equal norm and construct, to our best knowledge, the first real, tight, equal-norm frames maximally robust to erasures.
A NETWORK EDITOR AND SHELL PROGRAM FOR ELECTRICAL DISTRIBUTION SYSTEM PLANNING

Recent research has led to the development of new tools for the electric energy distribution system planner. Two of these new tools are discussed in the paper. The first is a Network Editor which allows the planner to manipulate network objects much as one manipulates text using a text editor. The second is the overseer program for the planning system which provides the planner many of the features of an operating system.
Cooper’s Block: America’s first soccer neighbourhood

This essay traces the evolution and influence of Cooper’s Block, a previously unknown Kearny, New Jersey soccer neighbourhood. During the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, The Block, a tiny soccer-loving hamlet on the banks of the Passaic River, played a pivotal role in nurturing, supporting and growing the game. British immigrants lived, worked and played in what came to be called ‘the cradle of American soccer’ and, in the process, continued to weave soccer into the fabric of everyday life. Soccer was not on the margins of American sporting space in places like Kearny as the intersection of immigration, labour and leisure established the game in certain urban neighbourhoods. Boys played on sandlots and for junior teams; men competed on weekends in a variety of leagues (amateur, semi-pro and professional) for a plethora of teams; and some players who grew up there went on to represent the United States on foreign tours and in World Cups. Cooper’s Block was both a founding and foundational Am...
Impaired insulin clearance in essential hypertension

The purpose of this study was to examine whether impaired insulin clearance contributes to the hyperinsulinemia observed in humans with essential hypertension. Previous studies from our group and others have demonstrated that individuals with essential hypertension are resistant to the glucoregulatory effect of insulin. Animal models have confirmed this finding and have suggested that hypertensive animals have impaired insulin clearance that might contribute to the observed hyperinsulinemia. The metabolic clearance rate of insulin (MCRins) was calculated during a constant infusion of glucose (320 mg/m2/min) and insulin (25 mU/m2/min), under conditions where endogenous insulin secretion was suppressed by somatostatin infusion (250 micrograms/h) for four groups of age sex and weight-matched patients: normotensive volunteers, untreated hypertensives, hypertensives treated with diuretics and hypertensives treated with diuretics and beta-blockers. MCRins was impaired in all three groups of hypertensive subjects compared with normal BP volunteers, particularly in untreated hypertensives and those treated with combination diuretic and beta-blocker therapy: normal = 0.6 +/- 0.1; untreated = 0.47 +/- 0.2; diuretic = 0.51 +/- 0.1; combination = 0.39 +/- 0.2 (in ml/min, expressed as mean +/- SD). The effectiveness of somatostatin for islet suppression was confirmed by demonstrating markedly diminished C-peptide concentrations in untreated hypertensives and normal volunteers. Thus, our previous finding of elevated steady-state plasma insulin during insulin suppression testing in hypertensives seems not to be the result of impaired pancreatic response to somatostatin but, rather, there seems to be a defect in insulin clearance in these individuals not unlike that demonstrated in animal models of hypertension and insulin resistance. The nature of this defect remains to be elucidated.
Early Earth: Atmosphere's solar shock

Frequent storms on the young Sun would have ejected energetic particles and compressed Earth's magnetosphere. Simulations suggest that the particles penetrated the atmosphere and initiated reactions that warmed the planet and fertilized life.
End-of-Life Family Decision-Making from Disclosure of HIV through Bereavement

End-of-life decision-making is conceptualized as the foreground against the background of a family, transitional model of illness with the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV). Both foreground and background represent new knowledge and theory development emerging from six research studies over a 7-year period. The research was phenomenological, longitudinal, ethnographic, descriptive survey, narrative, and grounded using the constant comparative method. In all, 100 families were studied in their home settings in the District of Columbia and 29 states across the United States. Throughout the transitional process from disclosure of HIV through bereavement, families engaged in end-of-life decision-making. Their decision-making style was primarily cognitive or primarily emotional or somewhere in between. Families using a cognitive style of decision-making were less disrupted and more able to surmount hurdles and move toward goals. Exemplars from 23 families illustrated family decision-making and components of the transitional, family model.
Perinatal outcomes of singleton siblings: the effects of changing maternal fertility status

Purpose The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of changing fertility status on perinatal outcomes of singleton siblings, conceived with and without assisted reproductive technology (ART).
Fat: Culture and Materiality

We, as a society, are disgusted by fat. We do not want to see it on ourselves or on others. We diet, exercise, wear slimming intimates, and undergo liposuction all to minimize its appearance. Visio...
The great war and the origins of humanitarianism, 1918-1924

The great war and the origins of humanitarianism is a well-written and tightly argued account of key events, ideas, and, most importantly, the innovators who remade the humanitarian ideal after the...
State Spending for Higher Education: Does it Improve Economic Performance?

Increases in regional spending for higher education are conventionally believed to cause increases in economic performance. However, while some empirical evidence directly or indirectly confirms this belief, some research also brings it into question and even contradicts it. This research uses panel Granger causal models to consider not only the conventional belief but also the opposite possibility – that increases in economic performance cause increases in US state spending for higher education. It examines state spending for higher education in relation to educational attainment, per capita income and gross domestic product within the fifty states of the United States for the period 1989–2014. The results show that while increases in the share of a state's population with a bachelor degree Granger causes improved economic performance, in the short term of four years or less the direction of causality goes in the opposite direction from the one conventionally believed. Implications of this reverse causality are discussed from the policy perspective.
Total sleep time as a predictor of suicidal behaviour.

Summary Insomnia symptoms are a known predictor of suicide; however, less is known about the relationship between hypersomnia and suicide, and how total sleep time may better account for suicidal ideation compared with subjective reports of insomnia symptoms. In the present secondary data analysis, a squared term confirmed the importance of both short and long total sleep time on suicidal behaviour. Total sleep time had a significant positive direct effect on suicidal behaviour (b = 0.20, SE = 0.08, P < 0.05), significant negative direct effects on insomnia symptoms (b = −1.67, SE = 0.13, P < 0.0001) and on depressive symptoms (b = −1.76, SE = 0.29, P < 0.0001). Depression had a significant positive effect on suicidal behaviour (b = 0.17, SE = 0.01, P < 0.0001), and significantly mediated the relationship between total sleep time and suicidal behaviour, but insomnia symptoms did not. Total sleep time squared had a significant positive relationship with suicidal behaviour (b = 0.02, SE = 0.01, P < 0.05), significant negative direct effects on insomnia symptoms (b = −0.12, SE = 0.01, P < 0.0001) and on depressive symptoms (b = −0.12, SE = 0.02, P < 0.0001). Depression had a significant positive effect on suicidal behaviour (b = 0.17, SE = 0.01, P < 0.0001), and significantly mediated the relationship between total sleep time and suicidal behaviour. These results suggest the importance of assessing for total sleep time in clinical settings with regard to suicide risk.
The effect of intravenous insulin, apheresis and oral lipid-lowering agents on non-fasting hypertriglyceridemia and associated pancreatitis.

OBJECTIVES There is evidence that increasing severity of hypertriglyceridemia increases the risk of acute pancreatitis. There is a debate about superiority of treatment methods and previous works have specifically called for direct comparison between IV insulin and apheresis techniques. Identify patient characteristics predictive of lipid-lowering therapy selection in a large community hospital for treatment of hypertriglyceridemia; evaluate for a concentration-dependent relationship between hypertriglyceridemia severity and risk of acute pancreatitis; assess for differences in clinical outcomes between patients treated with IV insulin versus apheresis. METHODS Single center, retrospective cohort study including patients with hypertriglyceridemia between January 2007 and December 2016. Main measures included frequency of pancreatitis, choice of lipid-lowering therapy, and clinical comparisons of diet, oral lipid-lowering agents, IV insulin, and apheresis. RESULTS Initial serum triglyceride level and disease acuity was higher among patients in insulin and apheresis groups. Neither triglyceride level, Charlson comorbidity index, age, BISAP score, nor initial CRP predicted use of IV insulin versus apheresis. Prevalence of pancreatitis increased with higher triglyceride level, reaching 48% with triglycerides >2000 md/dL (p < 0.001). There was a significant decrease in serum triglycerides at each time interval (p < 0.05) in patients treated with IV insulin and apheresis, but no difference in clearance rate between the two. Length of stay did not differ between IV insulin and apheresis. CONCLUSION The presence of pancreatitis, hyperglycemia, and hypertriglyceridemia severity influenced selection of therapies like IV insulin and apheresis. We found no superiority of either IV insulin or apheresis in the treatment of severe hypertriglyceridemia among patients hospitalized for pancreatitis.
90-90-90 for HIV-2? Ending the HIV-2 epidemic by enhancing care and clinical management of patients infected with HIV-2

Summary Distinct from HIV-1 and often neglected in the global campaign to end the AIDS epidemic, HIV-2 presents unique and underappreciated challenges in diagnosis, clinical care, antiretroviral therapy (ART), and HIV programmatic management. Here, we review the epidemiology and natural history of HIV-2, diagnostics and algorithms for accurately diagnosing and differentiating HIV-2 from HIV-1, the unique features of HIV-2 ART and drug resistance, and the clinical care and management of patients infected with HIV-2 in both developed and resource-limited settings. Ultimately, further research is needed to address the gaps in our knowledge of HIV-2 infection, increased resources are needed to specifically target HIV-2 as part of the UNAIDS/WHO 90-90-90 campaign to end AIDS, and increased determination is needed to better advocate for inclusion of people living with HIV-2 in global HIV/AIDS initiatives.
A Pilot Study: Use of Fludarabine for Refractory Dermatomyositis and Polymyositis, and Examination of Endpoint Measures

Objective. To study the effects of the adenine analog, fludarabine, on patients with refractory dermatomyositis and polymyositis, and to assess variables used in following myositis patients during medical intervention. Methods. Patients whose myositis was not controlled by prednisone and at least one other immunosuppressive medication were entered into a pilot study during which they received 6 monthly cycles of intravenous fludarabine. Patients were assessed at baseline, every other month, and at month 7 for primary outcome measures of strength and function. Other measurements including peripheral blood cell subsets, muscle enzymes, and various assessments of disease activity were followed monthly during the fludarabine infusion period and for up to 6 months post therapy. Results. Of 16 patients who entered the study, 4 patients were classified as improved, and 7 patients were classified as unchanged. Five patients who withdrew before month 7 were classified as treatment failures. Fludarabine caused a significant and prolonged lymphopenia without an increase in infectious complications over that seen with other immunosuppressive agents used for myositis. A sudden death of one patient at the end of the study was not thought to be drug related. Variables followed during the study emphasized the distinction between patient functional improvement and disease remission. Conclusion. A subset of patients with refractory myositis may benefit from fludarabine therapy and controlled trials are indicated. Refinement and validation of variables useful for following myositis patients await larger studies.
Closeness of Functions. Approximation in the Mean. Fourier Expansions

It is well known that most problems of applied mechanics either cannot be solved rigorously, or the effort to obtain such solutions is too great to justify the work expended. Under these circumstances, there is no choice but to employ methods leading to approximate solutions. The question then arises concerning the evaluation of the accuracy of an approximate solution, that is, the closeness of the approximating function-vector to the exact solution-vector.
Inventing, Evaluating, and Approving New Drugs and Devices

Scientific discoveries and technological innovation are principal drivers of the world’s economy. Development of new diagnostic procedures and treatments for disease only occurs in the presence of an incentive. The patent system preserves the right of inventors to profit from their discoveries and is an important component of technological progress. However, a patent does not ensure that a new drug or medical device is effective and does not protect consumers who are not equipped to evaluate the benefits of new healthcare-related products. For that reason, government agencies such as the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the USA are placed in charge of evaluating the effectiveness and safety of new biomedical technologies.
Intermediate Age Populations

Our understanding of asymptotic giant branch evolution has reached the point where the timescales are well enough known that realistic luminosity functions can be computed. The Mira and OH-IR star phases of stellar evolution truncate the AGB well before Reimers’ Law mass loss exhausts the envelope. These luminosity functions allow us to compute the luminosity variance, which may be sensitive to the presence of intermediate age populations.
The Multidisciplinary Approach to the Management of Substance Abuse

The successful management of patients with substance abuse disorders requires addressing the patient’s substance abuse, medical, psychiatric, and psychosocial problems. Screening tools and algorithms for determining the most effective treatment paradigm are now available, as patients have distinct, individual needs. Treatment modalities include those that focus on medical, psychological, and sociocultural aspects. Therefore, a multidisciplinary model of care best addresses the complexities of substance abuse, as most patients will benefit from integrated pharmacological and psychosocial therapies.
An Overview of Behavioral Toxicology

Let us define behavioral toxicology as the science dealing with the effects of nontherapeutic, nonphysiological chemicals on the behavior of more or less intact subjects. Its importance is so obvious today as to be apparent to both the man on the street and to the Congress. The very obviousness of its practical importance has tended to overshadow its scientific potential, but in an overview one can see through the overshadow. I have been arguing for years that a major scientific contribution of behavioral pharmacology is to the analysis of the organization of behavioral functions, just as some of the most important scientific contributions of pharmacology generally have been in the analysis of the organization of physiological, including biochemical and biophysical, mechanisms. Most of the drugs used in analysis of physiological functions have been poisons rather than therapeutic drugs: Claude Bernard used curare; strychnine and nicotine have been much exploited; and iodoacetate and tetrodotoxin are useful. When Reid Hunt synthesized acetylcholine his paper was entitled-freely paraphrased-a new bunch of poisons, some of horrendous potency. The chemicals that will be valuable in analysis of behavioral functions will mostly be poisons rather than therapeutic drugs.
Apoptosis inducing factor deficiency causes retinal photoreceptor degeneration. The protective role of the redox compound methylene blue.

Abstract Dysfunction in mitochondrial oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) underlies a wide spectrum of human ailments known as mitochondrial diseases. Deficiencies in complex I of the electron transport chain (ETC) contribute to 30–40% of all cases of mitochondrial diseases, and leads to eye disease including optic nerve atrophy and retinal degeneration. The mechanisms responsible for organ damage in mitochondrial defects may include energy deficit, oxidative stress, and an increase in the NADH/NAD+ redox ratio due to decreased NAD+ regeneration. Currently, there is no effective treatment to alleviate human disease induced by complex I defect. Photoreceptor cells have the highest energy demand and dependence on OXPHOS for survival, and the lowest reserve capacity indicating that they are sensitive to OXPHOS defects. We investigated the effect of mitochondrial OXPHOS deficiency on retinal photoreceptors in a model of mitochondrial complex I defect (apoptosis inducing factor, AIF-deficient mice, Harlequin mice), and tested the protective effect of a mitochondrial redox compound (methylene blue, MB) on mitochondrial and photoreceptor integrity. MB prevented the reduction in the retinal thickness and protein markers for photoreceptor outer segments, Muller and ganglion cells, and altered mitochondrial integrity and function induced by AIF deficiency. In rotenone-induced complex I deficient 661 W cells (an immortalized mouse photoreceptor cell line) MB decreased the NADH/NAD+ ratio and oxidative stress without correcting the energy deficit, and improved cell survival. MB deactivated the mitochondrial stress response pathways, the unfolding protein response and mitophagy. In conclusion, preserving mitochondrial structure and function alleviates retinal photoreceptor degeneration in mitochondrial complex I defect.
College and Career Readiness Knowledge and Effectiveness: Findings from an Initial Inquiry in Indiana.

ABSTRACTCollege and career readiness (CCR) cannot be overstatedfor today’s high school students. The rigor of postsecondaryeducation and the demands of the workforce have dramaticallyshifted to adv...
The Elephant in the Room: Prejudicial Public Art and Cultural Vandalism

Prejudicial public art is a visible yet often ignored social and cultural problem. Recently, however, it has commanded popular and mass media attention as increasing numbers of publics around the w...
Assessing Regulatory Responses to Troubled Banks

How can the public assess the performance of regulators who administer the resolution of troubled banks? Economic theory indicates that regulators best serve the public interest when they act to discourage moral hazard and preserve channels of financial intermediation. I study the resolution of failed financial institutions in the US over the period 1984-1992, characterized by concurrent crises in the banking and Savings and Loans(S&L) industries. I determine whether regulators in the two industries conformed to norms of optimal resolution by developing a Bayesian estimation algorithm to uncover their decision rules. The results show that the banking regulator provided assistance and carried out liquidations with higher probability when failures occurred amid adverse and benign local economic conditions respectively. Whereas the former's actions align with theoretical recommendations, the S&L regulator did not distinguish across failures based on underlying economic characteristics. These findings provide insights into the differences in responses that contributed to the resilience of the banking regulator through the crisis and the eventual insolvency of the S&L regulator. The estimation approach developed here addresses unobserved heterogeneity, allows straightforward inference on quantities of interest and offers a coherent framework for model comparison.
Water Dynamics in Nanoporous Silica: Ultrafast Vibrational Spectroscopy and Molecular Dynamics Simulations

Nanoporous silica materials are important in catalysis, energy, and materials applications in which water is an essential component. System performance is intimately connected to the water dynamics...
A Virtual Globe Using a Discrete Global Grid System to Illustrate the Modifiable Areal Unit Problem

In the same way that discrete global grid systems (DGGS) are used to index data on the spherical Earth, they can aggregate point data, with their spherical polygons serving as bins. DGGS are partic...
Evaluation of FDA Food Recalls in the USA (P04-171-19)

Food safety is important to both the consumer and the food industry. This study evaluates the Food and Drug Administration's food recall data for food safety, including undeclared allergens. FDA Archive Data for Recalls, Market Withdrawals & Safety Alerts were downloaded for 2010 through 2017. Recalls were first categorized by drugs, medical supplies and devices, cosmetics, and food safety issues for foods and dietary supplements. Then divided into reasons for recalls, company, and type of food. There was a total of 3462 recalls, with 2500 relating to human foods (mean = 313 per year; range = 233 to 449 per year). Of the product recalls relating to human foods, more than 40% were related to two microorganisms, Listeria monocytogenes and Salmonella, closely followed by undeclared ingredients and allergens. The top 15 companies with the most food recalls represent 11.5% of all food recalls. Out of more than 1500 companies, one food market chain was responsible for over three %, nearly three times that of the second most recalled company or market. The number of food recalls is small in comparison to the number of unique food products in the marketplace. These food recalls likely represent only a small fraction of the total food safety problems, many of which go unreported to health departments and FDA. Increasing consumer awareness of food recall frequency may encourage companies to find better ways to keep food safe and improve customer loyalty. None.
Decentralized and Secure Multimedia Sharing Application over Named Data Networking

Named Data Networking (NDN) thrives in peer-to-peer data sharing scenarios, through naming data and decoupling data from its containers. Meanwhile, social media applications have come under increased criticism for excessive centralization and opacity. We present npChat, an Android application that allows users to capture and share multimedia with friends in a secure and fully decentralized way, while still giving users complete control over their data. We propose using namespaces owned by users instead of a shared application namespace and establish trust using multiple trust models. We use an application-level pub-sub model to share friend information and publish data, as well as a per-object access control scheme to share content with selected friends. Our evaluation demonstrates the application's data sharing performance and low overhead in various scenarios.
A Thermodynamic Roadmap for the Grafting-through Polymerization of PDMS11MA

Grafting-through atom transfer radical polymerization (ATRP) was used to polymerize a sterically hindered poly(dimethylsiloxane) methacrylate (PDMS11MA, Mn = 1000) macromonomer to high conversion a...
Leveraging orthogonal mass spectrometry based strategies for comprehensive sequencing and characterization of ribosomal antimicrobial peptide natural products.

Covering: Up to July 2020 Ribosomal antimicrobial peptide (AMP) natural products, also known as ribosomally synthesized and post-translationally modified peptides (RiPPs) or host defense peptides, demonstrate potent bioactivities and impressive complexity that complicate molecular and biological characterization. Tandem mass spectrometry (MS) has rapidly accelerated bioactive peptide sequencing efforts, yet standard workflows insufficiently address intrinsic AMP diversity. Herein, orthogonal approaches to accelerate comprehensive and accurate molecular characterization without the need for prior isolation are reviewed. Chemical derivatization, proteolysis (enzymatic and chemical cleavage), multistage MS fragmentation, and separation (liquid chromatography and ion mobility) strategies can provide complementary amino acid composition and post-translational modification data to constrain sequence solutions. Examination of two complex case studies, gomesin and styelin D, highlights the practical implementation of the proposed approaches. Finally, we emphasize the importance of heterogeneous AMP peptidoforms that confer varying biological function, an area that warrants significant further development.
Combined Achilles Tendon-bone Block Allograft and Flexor Hallucis Longus Tendon Transfer for Long Segment Defects Involving the Insertional Region.

Abstract Long-segment disease involving the insertional region of the Achilles tendon can be a challenging problem. These patients often have significant disability and functional problems. Surgical management requires some type of tissue replacement, regional tissue rearrangement or tendon transfer. Various types of allograft tissue as well as synthetic materials have been described. Patients often have residual weakness and functional deficits following surgery. We have utilized an Achilles tendon-bone block allograft in combination with a flexor hallucis longus tendon transfer for long-segment Achilles tendon deficits involving the insertion. A retrospective review was performed on this group of patients to assess complication rates. A chart review was performed on 14 patients who underwent this procedure. The average postoperative follow-up duration was 24.7 months (range 6-48). Postoperatively, all patients exhibited grade 5 muscle strength with manual muscle testing and 12 of 14 patients were able to perform a single limb heel rise. This case series reviews the surgical technique as well as the patient demographics and complication rates. This procedure has been reliable for those patients with long-segment Achilles tendon deficits involving the insertion who desire to resume a high demand occupation or active lifestyle. The complication rate is relatively low.
Awe, wonder, and the human mind

The human mind is unique in its ability to form, store, and manipulate elaborate conceptual models of the world; yet these models have vast, inevitable gaps. Where the models end, the potential for wonder and awe begins. Psychology research has begun to uncover distinctive implications of awe for how we perceive our environment and ourselves. More science investigating basic features of awe is needed to fulfill its promise for improving the human experience. Awe, accessible in everyday life, can be a valuable tool for enhancing well-being.
Influence of Region on Sensory and Chemical Profiles of Pennsylvania Grüner Veltliner Wines.

The influence of cultural and environmental factors on the sensory and chemical profiles of wines has been the subject of research investigation for many years, and an examination of these relationships can help determine whether wine regional trends exist. The present study investigated the chemical and sensory factors that drive regional differences in Pennsylvania Gruner Veltliner wines through a controlled winemaking study across two vintages in 2018 and 2019. Descriptive analysis was used to identify key sensory attributes of Pennsylvania Gruner Veltliner. Intensities of these attributes were evaluated in wines vinified under identical conditions from grapes harvested across nine Pennsylvania vineyards. Chemical profiles of finished wines were examined through volatile, phenolic, and color analyses. Significant sensory differences were found between wine regions, with some trends consistent across both vintages; however, regionality based on compositional analyses was less clear. As the first study to examine Pennsylvania Gruner Veltliner wines sensorially, results revealed sensory characteristics that can be useful for wineries and their tasting room staff in marketing these lesser-known white wines to wine consumers as the variety grows in popularity in the state.
Crystallography of the Aluminum Borides

At present, there are five authenticated phases in the aluminum—boron system: 1. AlB2—hexagonal; bronze-colored, thin platelets. 2. AlB10—orthorhombic; black lustrous, pyramidal and tabular; new phase. 3. α-AlB12 —tetragonal, pseudocubic; hematite-like plates and laths (irregular pseudooctahedra) ; thin sections orange-red in strong transmitted light. 4. β-AlB12—orthorhombic, pseudotetragonal; amber-colored, bipyramidal; poly synthetically twinned on (110) and (110). 5. γ -AlB12—orthorhombic, polytypically related to α -AlB12; hematite-like, orthogonal laths; new phase. (1) is the only aluminum boride phase whose properties are different from those of boron and also the only phase whose structure is known. (3), (4), and (5) have common unit cell vectors which show that, as in boron carbide and the known forms of boron, boron icosahedra represent the major structural elements.
Microelectrochemical Characterization of the Effect of Rare Earth Inhibitors on the Localized Corrosion of AA2024-T3

This research is sponsored by the U.S. Air Force Academy under agreement number FA7000-12-2-0015. The U.S. Government is authorized to reproduce and distribute reprints for Governmental purposes notwithstanding any copyright notation thereon. The views and conclusion contained herein are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as necessarily represented official policies or endorsement, either expressed or implied, of the U.S. Air Force Academy or the U.S. Government.
Dark matter of the biosphere: The amazing world of bacteriophage diversity

Bacteriophages are the most abundant biological entities in the biosphere, and this dynamic and old population is, not surprisingly, highly diverse genetically. Relative to bacterial genomics, phage genomics has advanced slowly, and a higher-resolution picture of the phagosphere is only just emerging. This view reveals substantial diversity even among phages known to infect a common host strain, but the relationships are complex, with mosaic genomic architectures generated by illegitimate recombination over a long period of evolutionary history.
ESTIMATED DATA COVARIANCE FILES OF EVALUATED CROSS SECTIONS — EXAMPLES FOR 235U AND 238 U*

We review the status of development of formats and methods to represent uncertainty information of evaluated microscopic data in the ENDF/B system. Some examples of methods to obtain the data covariances of important cross sections for fertile and fissile nuclides are given. We give some examples of typical group cross sections covariance matrices obtained by processing the ENDF/B estimated data covariance files.
Leaving the Empty Vessel of 'Republicanism' Unfilled: An Argument for the Continued Non-Justiciability of Guarantee Clause Cases

Many commentators trace the beginning of the end of the political question doctrine to the Supreme Court's 1962 Baker v. Carr decision. In Baker, as Mark Tushnet has explained, the Court domesticated the doctrine by reducing it from an amorphous prudential doctrine to a set of six legal rules. If the political question doctrine continues to have any vitality, it is in the area of foreign affairs and in cases raising "Guarantee Clause" claims. I ignore the foreign affairs area and focus on the Guarantee Clause. Cases raising Guarantee Clause claims now stand on the cusp of justiciability.In Part I, I argue that there is good reason to believe that the Court will soon consider claims arising under the Guarantee Clause. First, as a textual matter, the argument for non-justiciability is weak. Second, the prudential rationale offered by the Court in Baker v. Carr for not deciding Guarantee Clause claims - that the Guarantee Clause is "not a repository of judicially manageable standards" - has failed to hold up in the face of the Court's development of manageable standards in other areas of the law. Thus, all that stands in the way of justiciability is weakly-reasoned (though longstanding) precedent.In Part II of this Chapter, I argue that the Court should nonetheless continue to treat cases raising Guarantee Clause claims as non-justiciable. The most likely claims advanced under the Clause would challenge the initiative process (or particular initiatives) and provide additional arguments for Court intervention in election law, particularly voting rights, disputes. The success of such claims would further entrench courts in political regulation with little benefit and at a great potential cost. It also may have unintended consequences for those who see the clause as the next means of advancing a liberal activist agenda on the Court - it may just as well promote a conservative activist agenda. Thus, the history of the Guarantee Clause could well parallel the history of the Equal Protection Clause from its liberal use in post-Baker cases to more conservative uses in cases like Bush v. Gore. I conclude that both liberal and conservative Court Justices concerned about the over-involvement of the courts in political regulation would do well to keep the political question doctrine on life support, if only to insure that Guarantee Clause claims remain non-justiciable.
Strength amplifying hand exoskeleton

Degenerative muscle diseases characterized by loss of strength and dexterity in the human hand significantly affect the physical, emotional, and social well-being of affected individuals. An assistive hand exoskeleton was designed to amplify residual muscle strength and improve functionality by assisting pinching and grasping motions. The device featured three movable finger components: thumb, index, and middle-ring-small (MRS). The exoskeleton and support structures were 3D printed using ABS thermoplastic. Feedback from embedded flex sensors and a force-sensing resistor were analyzed by a microcontroller, which individually commanded three linear electrical actuators. Actuators produced flexion through a cable-driven system, where monofilament polymer cables on the palmar side of the fingers, simulating the tendons of the human hand. The exoskeleton was lightweight, portable, and customizable.
Religious Life in the United States: A Vocation of Border Crossing

It is said that apostolic religious women communities in the U.S. are experiencing an identity crisis along with a decrease in membership. This essay explains identity construction by critiquing the current approach to identity as a status, and provides a model of identity as border crosser. This study is significant in providing innovative ideas with regard to the identity of women religious, critiquing the life of apostolic women religious, and posing suggestions for the future of religious life in light of a vocation of border crossing. The author employs Jacque Lacan’s concepts of the “master signifier” and the “empty signifier,” in which identity is an ongoing process that can be found in the experience.Using these ideas, the author examines the early history of women religious in the U.S. and explains the distinct identity of women religious as border crosser. Women religious’ vocation of border crossing functioned as a bridge between US society and the immigrant Catholic Church, as well as the primary foundation for their spirituality. This border crossing identity has existed in the midst of apostolic work of women religious since Vatican II. Furthermore, the identity of women religious in the U.S. as border crosser is in the process of being shaped and reshaped in relation to the world, and this border crossing identity will lead women religious to connect with others globally, to create their community in a multi-ethnical way, and to serve immigrants.
Regulatory role of E-NTPase/E-NTPDase in Ca2+/Mg2+ transport via gated channel

E-NTPase/E-NTPDase is activated by millimolar concentrations of Ca2+ or Mg2+ with a pH optimum of 7.5 for the hydrolysis of extracellular NTP and NDP. It has been generally accepted that E-NTPase/E-NTPDase plays regulatory role in purinergic signalling, but other functions may yet be discovered. In this article it is proposed on the basis of published data that E-NTPase/E-NTPDase could play a role in the influx and efflux of Ca2+and Mg2+ in vivo. Attenuation of extracellular Ca2+ influx by rat cardiac sarcoplasmic anti-E-NTPase antibodies and oligomerization studies on mammalian CD39 conclusively point towards the existence of a new channel in the membrane. Further studies on these properties of the E-NTPase/E-NTPDase may provide detailed mechanisms and identify the potential patho-physiological significance.
The Footprint for Estimation of Atmosphere-Surface Exchange Fluxes by Profile Techniques

The flux footprint, that is the contribution per unit emission from each element of the upwind surface area to measurement of the vertical flux of a passive scalar, is calculated for fluxes estimated by micrometeorological profile techniques. It is found that the upwind extent of the footprint for concentration-profile flux estimates is similar to that of the footprint for eddy-covariance flux measurements, when the eddy-covariance measurement is made at a height equal to the arithmetic mean of the highest and lowest profile measurement heights for stable stratification or the geometric mean for unstable stratification. The concentration-profile flux footprint depends on the ratio of the highest to the lowest measurement height, but is insensitive to the number of measurement levels. The concentration-profile flux footprint extends closer to the measurement location than does the 'equivalent’ eddy-covariance flux footprint, and the difference becomes more pronounced as the ratio of the profile measurement heights increases. The flux footprint for the Bowen-ratio technique is identical to that for a two-level profile measurement only for very limited circumstances. In the more general case, a flux footprint cannot be defined for the Bowen-ratio technique and the uniform upwind fetch required for representative flux measurements depends on the specific spatial distribution of surface fluxes.
A new prism use for treatment of cyclo-deviation in trochlear nerve injury

Visual problems are common in patients with severe TBI. Diplopia is among the most frustrating of visual disturbances for patients, due to its functional consequences. This is further compounded by often slow, and at times, incomplete or partial recovery over six months or longer. Ocular cranial nerve injuries (particularly trochlear nerve) occur in 0.2%-1.4% of severe TBI patients. This paper presents a new prism treatment application for treating rotational diplopia arising from Trochlear nerve injury.
Comparison of Methods for Pregnanediol Determination

A gas chromatographic method of pregnanediol determination has been carried out on 24-hr. urine specimens collected during various phases of the menstrual cycle and during pregnancy. Pregnanediol values were correlated with endometrial histology and cycle day in nonpregnant subjects, and with duration of gestation during pregnancy. Determinations were performed on free pregnanediol and on the acetylated derivative, both with and without the inclusion of a permanganate wash. One patient was followed through 2 ovulatory cycles with 24-hr. urinary pregnanediol determinations, using gas-liquid chromatography of the free compound. Comparisons were also made between pregnanediol values as determined by gas chromatography and by column chromatography. The method using gas chromatography is rapid and reproducible, yielding results comparable to those obtained using a colorimetric technic. The gas chromatographic method is applicable during pregnancy, and also in the nonpregnant state for evaluating the occurrence of ovulation. There appears to be no advantage in the performance of a permanganate oxidation or in the production of the diacetate derivative.
Factor XII (Hageman factor) is a missing link between stress and hypercoagulability and plays an important role in the pathophysiology of ischemic stroke

A new hypothesis is presented on the function of factor XII, which is postulated to be a "missing link" between acute stress and transient hypercoagulability. The implications of this idea are developed to show how chronic stress, which involves activation of hypertension and migraine as well as hypercoagulability, can cause of cerebrovascular disease. "Acute stress" is defined as "the normal short-term physiological response to the perception of major threats or demands". "Chronic stress" is "the abnormal ongoing physiological response to the continuing perception of unresolvable major threats or demands". The factor XII hypothesis is as follows: Acute stress includes release of epinephrine by the adrenal medulla. Epinephrine activates platelets by binding to alpha-2A adrenergic receptors. Activated platelets convert pre-bound factor XII to its active form, which then initiates the intrinsic coagulation cascade. This can be called the "activated platelet initiation pathway" for coagulation. Neither tissue factor nor pre-formed thrombin is required. Thrombosis proceeds to completion, but only a minute amount of thrombin is formed, and the process normally stops at this point. In people who lapse into a state of chronic stress, essential hypertension, which is also a manifestation of stress, synergizes with hypercoagulability: there is both a baseline rise in blood pressure and systemic platelet activation as well as superimposed labile rises of both. Upregulation of these two stress parameters is atherogenic: epinephrine-activated platelets stimulating thrombin formation interact with endothelial cells activated by angiotensin II to cause, first, smooth muscle cell proliferation, which is a histological hallmark of atherosclerosis, and, lastly, a symptomatic thrombotic occlusion-the stroke. The migraine symptoms which often accompany this process are a marker of chronic stress and ongoing pathophysiologic damage. Therapeutic predictions are made regarding novel ways of blocking stress-induced hypercoagulability and hypertension. Hypercoagulability could be targeted by monoclonal antibodies directed against the platelet-specific alpha-2 adrenergic receptor or the (putative) platelet receptor for Factor XII; hypertension could be treated with monoclonal antibodies directed against the beta-adrenergic receptor in the juxtaglomerular apparatus or by surgical denervation of the kidneys, either of which would decrease the renin release which helps drive the hypertension.