cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Constitutive Formulation of the Mechanical Properties of Synthetic Hydrogels

This study attempts to define a universal description of the constitutive formulation of mechanical properties of synthetic hydrogels that can be manufactured as load-bearing structures to replace diseased or damaged soft tissues. While the strain energy density function (SEF) describing the elastic properties of a soft tissue generally depends on two invariants, we propose a SEF that depends on only the first strain invariant. This allows quantifying the SEF from data of a uniaxial extension test. The single invariant SEF was used to predict the mechanical response of a thick-walled tube inflated by an internal pressure. The results show excellent concordance with recorded experimental data, indicating that the mechanical properties of elastic hydrogels can be accurately represented by a SEF that is an exponential function of the first strain invariant with two material constants.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Sed2K: Modeling Lake Sediment Diagenesis in a Management Context

AbstractThe development of a vertically-segmented, mechanistic mass balance model (Sed2K) for particulate organic matter (POM) diagenesis in lake sediments is described. The model is parsimonious in its requirements for input data and versatile in its accommodation of kinetic formulations. An application is provided for hypereutrophic Lake Alice, Minnesota, which includes a well-constrained calibration to downcore POM constituents (carbon, nitrogen, and phosphorus) and their efflux at the sediment-water interface. The application then considers the system response to a reduction in POM deposition to the sediments (i.e., addressing the critical “when and to what extent” question fundamental to lake restoration programs).
Integrating psychiatric nursing into a baccalaureate nursing curriculum

Integrated nursing curricula are believed to carry the risk of diluting psychiatric nursing content and limiting nursing students’ opportunities to gain skills in providing care for patients with psychiatric disorders, especially patients with severe mental illnesses. Also, there is fear that integrating psychiatric nursing into more broad nursing content will reduce students’ interest in graduate psychiatric nursing study and thus endanger the specialty of psychiatric nursing. This report of a restructured baccalaureate nursing program that adopted the premise of holism—mental and physical health as united—presents a different view. Psychiatric nursing content was incorporated into classroom instruction over four semesters and, with the nursing theory of modeling and role-modeling as a guide, clinical experiences were planned for all students in primary, rehabilitative, or acute care settings. Psychiatric nursing did not disappear, as had been feared. It emerged less stigmatized, more accepted by the non...
Laser capture microdissection of metachromatically stained skeletal muscle allows quantification of fiber type specific gene expression

Skeletal muscle contains various myofiber types closely associated with satellite stem cells, vasculature, and neurons, thus making it difficult to perform genetic or proteomic expression analysis with sufficient cellular specificity to resolve differences at the individual cell or myofiber type level. Here, we describe the combination of a simple histochemical method capable of simultaneously identifying Type I, IIA, IIB, and IIC myofibers followed by laser capture micro-dissection (LCM) to compare the expression profiles of individual fiber types, myonuclear domains, and satellite cells in frozen muscle sections of control and atrophied muscle. Quantitative RT-PCR (qPCR) was used to verify the integrity of the cell-specific RNAs harvested after histologic staining, while qPCR for specific genes of interest was used to quantify atrophy-associated changes in mRNA. Our data demonstrate that the differential myofiber atrophy previously described by histologic means is related to differential expression of atrophy-related genes, such as MuRF1 and MAFbx (a.k.a. Atrogin-1), within different myofiber type populations. This spatially resolved molecular pathology (SRMP) technique allowed quantitation of atrophy-related gene products within individual fiber types that could not be resolved by expression analysis of the whole muscle. The present study demonstrates the importance of fiber type specific expression profiling in understanding skeletal muscle biology especially during muscle atrophy and provides a practical method of performing such research.
PISCES: an expert system for coal fired power plant monitoring and diagnostics

Economics and safety are two of the primary factors that influence the efficient operation of today's complicated power plants. The use of a computer expert system to assist in automatic plant system surveillance and diagnostics can reduce the operation cost and provide a greater degree of safety and system reliability. In our expert system, called PISCES (Plant Intelligent Supervisory Control System), plant engineers' experience and technical knowledge are represented symbolically and employed in diagnosing problems automatically and in providing assistance to inexperienced engineers, technicians, or operators who perform duties in the absence of an experienced plant engineer.The knowledge base of PISCES was developed using the MHD power plant which employs the Department of Energy's (DOE) coal fired flow facility at the University of Tennessee Space Institute. PISCES is a ruled-based system whose efficiency has been enhanced by the use of several research tools developed at our laboratory. The indexing of rules saves a lot of processing time which other rulebased systems waste in searching for proper rules. The PISCES's control strategy dynamically generates, processes and verifies hypotheses. The diagnostic results are displayed to operators, and explanations are provided on request. This paper describes the mechanism and functionality of the automatic diagnosis performed by PISCES.
China: Getting human rights right

(1997). China: Getting human rights right. The Washington Quarterly: Vol. 20, No. 2, pp. 132-151.
Management of burns of the perineum and buttocks

Abstract Twenty patients are reported who suffered acute thermal bums of the perineum and buttocks and were treated at the Shriners Burns Institute, Cincinnati Unit. Seventeen of the 20 patients had burns which resulted from ignition of clothing. The most common source of ignition was refuse fires. Ages ranged from 11 months to 12 years; 17 of the patients were males and 3 were females. Topical agents used to treat the perineal burns consisted of mafenide (Sulfamylon), gentamicin and silver sulphadiazine. All perineal burns were treated by the open technique. The whirlpool was used two times a day for cleansing and debriding the superficial eschar. Initial wound care, in addition to hydrotherapy, consisted of cleaning the perineum twice a day with a mixture of saline, peroxide and ‘Dreft’, after which the topical agent was applied. Once the eschar was removed, the wounds were prepared for grafting by the use of porcine xenografts or cadaver allografts. Meshed skin grafts were used for final coverage. Pseudomonas aeruginosa was the most common organism recovered; Escherichia coli was a close second. Follow-up on these patients revealed that late complications of the buttocks and perineum were minimal. A colostomy was performed in 1 of the 20 patients. This experience indicated that colostomy is not necessary for the handling of perineal burns and that involvement of the perineum in acute burns can be handled by relatively simple means.
TECHNICAL NOTE: Direct Solution of the Brinch-Hansen 90% Pile Ultimate Failure Load

In 1962, Kondner prepared several papers dealing with hyperbolic stress-strain response of cohesive soils. The following year, Brinch Hansen proposed 80% and 90% failure criteria for stress-strain behavior of cohesive soils. Fellenius was instrumental in popularizing these failure criteria for pile load tests and offered a direct solution equation for the failure load according to the 80% failure criterion. Since the 90% Criterion has been incorporated into the International Building Code, equations for the direct solution of the failure load at the 90% Criterion would be useful to practicing engineers. This Technical Note supplies the derivation methodology for the 80% Criterion and provides expressions to determine the load and deflection at failure for the 90% Criterion.
Characterization, modeling, and minimization of transient threshold voltage shifts in MOSFETs

MOSFETs subjected to large-signal gate-source voltage pulses on microsecond to millisecond time scales exhibit transient threshold voltage shifts which relax over considerably longer periods of time. This problem is important in high-accuracy analog circuits where it can cause errors at the 12 b level and above. In this paper, transient threshold voltage shifts are characterized with respect to their dependence on stress amplitude and duration, relaxation time, gate bias, substrate bias, drain voltage, temperature, and channel width and length. In contrast to previous studies, threshold voltage shifts are measured at time and voltage scales relevant to analog circuits, and are shown to occur even when the effects of Fowler-Nordheim tunneling, avalanche injection, hot carriers, trap generation, self-heating, mobile ions, and dipolar polarizations are absent. A new model is proposed in which channel charge carriers tunnel to and from near-interface oxide traps by one of three parallel pathways. Transitions may occur elastically, by direct tunneling between the silicon band edges and an oxide trap, or inelastically, by tunneling in conjunction with a thermal transition in the insulator or at the Si-SiO/sub 2/ interface. Simulations based on this model show excellent agreement with experimental results. The threshold voltage shifts are also shown to be correlated with 1/f noise, in corroboration of the tunneling model. Techniques for the minimization and modeling of errors in circuits are presented. >
Developmental and pediatric pharmacogenomics.

Children, as well as adults, should benefit from the discoveries of the genomic era. Many diseases with complex etiologies originate during childhood (e.g., asthma, autism, attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder, epilepsy and juvenile rheumatoid arthritis) and persist into adulthood. Attempts to better understand the genetic basis of age-specific disease processes requires an appreciation that the period of human development encompasses the prenatal period through adolescence, and is a rapidly changing, dynamic process. As a result, pharmacologic modulation of developing gene networks may have unintended and unanticipated consequences that do not become apparent or relevant until later in life. Thus, there is considerable potential for large-scale pharmacogenomic technologies to impact the development and utilization of new therapeutic strategies in children.
HAMILTON-JACOBI SKELETONS ON CORTICAL SURFACES WITH APPLICATIONS IN CHARACTERIZING THE GYRIFICATION PATTERN INWILLIAMS SYNDROME

We propose in this paper a novel approach for the automatic detection of sulcal lines on cortical surfaces as the skeleton of sulcal regions. As a first step, we partition a cortical surface into sulcal and gyral regions by using graph cuts to guarantee a global minimum for an associated variational optimization problem. The Hamilton-Jacobi skeleton method is then extended to subsets of triangular meshes using geodesic distance transforms obtained with the fast marching algorithm on triangular meshes. By decomposing the resulting skeleton into branches, we also develop an alternative approach to measure the complexity of the gyrification pattern of the cortex. In our experiments, we apply our method to a group of 40 healthy controls and 42 subjects with Williams syndrome. We report statistically significant group differences that validate previous findings of an increase in cortical complexity in Williams syndrome
Reliability and availability of a wide area network-based education system

An important class of quality of service (QoS)-dependent network-based applications are computer-based education systems. A successful network-based education (NBE) system needs to provide appropriate QoS at the user level. This includes adequate end-to-end response delay and adequate system reliability and availability. This paper presents results from a reliability and availability evaluation of NovaNET. NovaNET is a successful low-overhead multimedia education system which serves thousands of users on a daily basis. We analyze eight years of failure data and examine correlations among system failure events. The NovaNET data are used to discuss practical bounds on the reliability and availability of an NBE system.
Electronic trading and futures market efficiency

This paper analyses the pros and cons of computerized markets for futures contracts. Specifically, it presents the potential of computerized orders matching to resolve unfair trading practices such as inaccurate time and price reporting. front running, dual trading and the possibility of improving futures market efficiency. The political dimension of replacing the open–outcry trading system with electronic trading is considered. The analysis is partially based on experiences with computerized trading systems reported by futures exchanges in the United States, the United Kingdom and Switzerland. Computerized trading around the clock will go a long way towards the globalization of financial markets in the decade of the 1990s, and will improve market efficiency.
The cultural studies' crossroads blues

This article examines the current state of cultural studies. It argues for the need to delimit the field of cultural studies, proposing that the specificity of cultural studies as a way of politici...
Response Strategies and Stimulus Salience with Learning Disabled and Mentally Retarded Children on a Short-term Memory Task

This study utilizes a sophisticated research paradigm to investigate whether three-dimensional items (objects) are easier to remember than two-dimensional items (pictures). As previous research found three-dimensional stimuli more salient among educable mentally retarded children, the possibility exists that the differential salience of three-dimensional stimuli might even be greater among the learning disabled. Though, as the author points out, the number of subjects is small, the finding that objects facilitate recall by learning disabled children even more than the third dimension does for mentally retarded children has potential implications for teachers. — G.M.S.
Vapor Deposition of Lithium Tantalate with Volatile Double Alkoxide Precursors

Stoichiometric vapor deposition of LiTaO3 is demonstrated by thermal evaporation of volatile LiTa(OButn)6, controlled vapor phase partial-hydrolysis, and subsequent polycondensation reactions on a heated substrate surface. Fully dense, amorphous LiTaO3 film of up to 34 μm thick can be obtained at high deposition rate of 23 μm per hour. Single phase LiTaO3 films are obtained by annealing as deposited films. The vapor phase species responsible for the stoichiometric vapor deposition appeared to be Li2Ta2(OButn)12 from variable temperature mass spectrometry results.
Persistence of related bla-IMP-4 metallo-beta-lactamase producing Enterobacteriaceae from clinical and environmental specimens within a burns unit in Australia - a six-year retrospective study

To describe the clinical epidemiology, environmental surveillance and infection control interventions undertaken in a six-year persistence of bla-IMP-4 metallo-beta-lactamase (MBL) producing Enterobacteriaceae within a separately confined hospital burns unit in a tertiary hospital in Sydney, Australia. MBL positive clinical and environmental isolates were collected from the Burns Unit, from the first detection of isolates in September 2006 to August 2012. Unit-acquired clinical isolates were included, and patient outcomes analyzed amongst those who acquired clinically significant infections. Environmental isolates were analyzed with regard to relationship to clinical isolates, bacterial species, and persistence despite cleaning efforts. Thirty clinical isolates detected from 23 patients were identified. Clinically significant infection developed in 7 (30%) patients – 2 bacteremias, 2 central venous catheter tip infections without bacteremia, and 3 wound infections. All patients survived at 30 days. Seventy-one environmental isolates were confirmed to be MBL-positive, with 85% sourced from shower facilities or equipment. MBL organisms persisted at these sites despite both usual hospital cleaning, and following targeted environmental disinfection interventions. Clear association exists between environmental Burns Unit contamination by MBLs and subsequent patient colonization. Clinical infection occurred in a small proportion of patients colonized by MBLs, and with generally favorable outcomes. Its persistence in the Burns Unit environment, despite concerted infection control measures, pose concern for ongoing clinical transmission.
Effect of Actinobolin on Nucleic Acid and Protein Synthesis in Streptococcus faecalis

Actinobolin, an antibiotic that is inhibitory in vitro for cariogenic streptococci and that has strong cariostatic activity in vivo, appears to exert a bacteriostatic effect on Streptococcus faecalis. In S faecalis, the primary action of actinobolin seems to be in protein synthesis.
Location analysis for the estrogen receptor-α reveals binding to diverse ERE sequences and widespread binding within repetitive DNA elements

Location analysis for estrogen receptor-alpha (ERalpha)-bound cis-regulatory elements was determined in MCF7 cells using chromatin immunoprecipitation (ChIP)-on-chip. Here, we present the estrogen response element (ERE) sequences that were identified at ERalpha-bound loci and quantify the incidence of ERE sequences under two stringencies of detection: <10% and 10-20% nucleotide deviation from the canonical ERE sequence. We demonstrate that approximately 50% of all ERalpha-bound loci do not have a discernable ERE and show that most ERalpha-bound EREs are not perfect consensus EREs. Approximately one-third of all ERalpha-bound ERE sequences reside within repetitive DNA sequences, most commonly of the AluS family. In addition, the 3-bp spacer between the inverted ERE half-sites, rather than being random nucleotides, is C(A/T)G-enriched at bona fide receptor targets. Diverse ERalpha-bound loci were validated using electrophoretic mobility shift assay and ChIP-polymerase chain reaction (PCR). The functional significance of receptor-bound loci was demonstrated using luciferase reporter assays which proved that repetitive element ERE sequences contribute to enhancer function. ChIP-PCR demonstrated estrogen-dependent recruitment of the coactivator SRC3 to these loci in vivo. Our data demonstrate that ERalpha binds to widely variant EREs with less sequence specificity than had previously been suspected and that binding at repetitive and nonrepetitive genomic targets is favored by specific trinucleotide spacers.
Time-Resolved Laser Induced Transformations In Crystalline Te Thin Films

We report on time-resolved measurements of laser-induced transformations in Te thin films. Rapid thermal transformations are effected utilizing a KrF excimer laser (12 ns duration, 249 nm). The kinetics of the transformation is investigated utilizing transient conductance and infrared absorption measurements as well as reflectivity and transmissivity changes at 633 nm. The threshold for melting is accurately determined as well as melt velocities pertinent to the recrystallization kinetics of the molten films. Criteria for glass formation of Te are also discussed.
Phase characterization of a 2-path on-site coding digital beamformer

Recently, a novel receiver architecture with on-site coding was proposed to reduce the number of analog-to-digital converters behind antenna array elements. To realize digital beamforming using this receiver, it is important to faithfully recover the phase difference between adjacent signal paths at the digital baseband. In this paper, the impact of on-site coding on the phase error is examined for a 2-path receiver. Simulations showed that the relative phase difference between signal paths can be recovered at the digital baseband and that any phase error is due to the channel noise.
Multiproxy sclerochronological evidence for Plio-Pleistocene regional warmth: United States Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain

ABSTRACT Assessments of global Pliocene climate using conventional proxies indicate prevalent warmth at mid- to high latitudes. How this climate change was manifested on a regional basis and on annual timescales remains poorly understood. Oxygen isotope ratios (δ18O) of fossil Mercenaria spp. (bivalve) shells enable reconstruction of growth temperature to estimate sea surface temperature (SST) at seasonal resolution. Comparing growth characteristics of fossil and modern populations potentially provides independent SST constraints. Fossil shells were selected from the Rushmere Member of the Yorktown Formation (Pliocene, early Piacenzian, ∼3.3–3.0 Ma, warm interval) and the Chowan River Formation (Pleistocene, Gelasian, 2.4–1.8 Ma, subsequent cooling) of the U.S. Mid-Atlantic Coastal Plain (MACP). The coldest winter temperatures recorded in the Yorktown Formation shells averaged 17 ± 2 °C and the warmest summer temperatures averaged 25 ± 2 °C. Chowan River Formation shells recorded the coldest winter temper...
Synthesis of Polyfunctionalized Biphenyls as Intermediates for a New Class of Liquid Crystals

A series of hexa- and octasubstituted biphenyls containing halogen, amino, nitro, and propylthio substituents were prepared by metal-mediated convergent synthesis from halobenzene precursors. The Pd-assisted C-C coupling methods were ineffective in the formation of the Ar-Ar bond except for the synthesis of 1b. All tetra-ortho-substituted biphenyls were prepared via Ullmann coupling reactions. The halogens were introduced after formation of the biphenyl by utilizing the directing properties of the amino group(s). In the case of 3b, a polyhalogenated benzene substrate was used for biphenyl formation via Ullmann coupling.
The Internet and Increased Citizen Participation in Government

What roles do communication systems, information technologies and the internet play in fostering citizen participation and influencing the electoral and administrative decisions of government? The internet is simultaneously a world-wide broadcasting network, a mechanism for information dissemination, and a medium for collaboration and interaction between individuals and their computers without regard for geographic boundaries or time zones. This article describes the origins of participatory democracy, discusses how modern concepts of democracy link to citizen participation, and describes the ways that newly-created spaces on the internet referred to as “polispheres” are being used by political activists and candidates to facilitate wider collaboration and citizen participation. The following questions are addressed: What role does the internet play in fostering and aiding citizen participation in government? Does increased involvement lead to greater trust and confidence in government? What role did the internet play in apparently reversing downward trends in citizen apathy and drawing 8 million new voters to the United States 2008 presidential election? The article suggests that information technology facilitates broader citizen participation and identifies the challenges facing governments in adopting internet-based ICT strategies.
Mills in Dark Times: How Charles Mills' Work Helps Us Think About Global Justice in the Current Economic Crisis and Beyond

The work of philosopher Charles Mills is not often included in the canon of global justice literature. Mills' emphasis on the centrality of historical racial oppression to both the contemporary global landscape and the scope of dominant Western moral visions, however, shines a crucial light on questions of global justice. Bringing Mills' thought to bear upon this current moment of economic crisis highlights these contributions. First, Mills' focus on the continuities between historical, overtly racist policies and the unofficial racism that shapes contemporary life calls attention to how older colonial and racial oppressions have predisposed certain populations to bear the brunt of the current crisis. By pushing us to ask who has benefited from these same patterns, questions of responsibility and reparations for ongoing injury - key questions of global justice - are foregrounded. Second, Mills' theorization of race privilege as central to our moral cognition invites us to interrogate the term 'crisis' itself: not as a debunking move, but as an examination of its temporal threshold and spatial scope. Who must feel the effects, and where, before this term comes into play? What does the subject of 'economic recovery' look like, and who is left outside? Thinking through these raced, classed, and gendered circumscriptions is vital not only for just solutions to present suffering, but for developing a more truly global conception of both injustice and its redress.
Burden and patterns of hospital readmissions for acute (AP) and chronic pancreatitis (CP)

University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA, USA Background: There is growing concern over rising healthcare costs, which are primarily driven by hospital (re)admissions. The cost of pancreatitis care in the US was $3.7 billion in 2004. We recently reported on the absolute risk of readmission after initial hospitalization for AP and CP in Allegheny County, PA. Aim: To evaluate the overall burden and pattern of readmissions in these cohorts. Methods: We identified all unique White or Black Allegheny County residents with first hospital admission for AP or CP from 1996-2005 using Pennsylvania Health Care Cost Containment Council (PHC4) dataset. Final study population consisted of patients (AP: 6010; CP: 868) who survived index admission and had follow up data available. Etiology was determined using associated diagnosis (Dx) codes. We analyzed pancreatitis related readmission data (type, number, patterns) until 3rd quarter 2007 (median follow up w40 months). Results: Readmission with Primary AP or CP (PriAPCP) or any pancreatitis (AnyPanc) Dx was noted in 24% and 33% in AP; 45% and 58% in CP cohort respectively. In patients with readmissions, total (average) number of readmissions with PriAPCP and AnyPanc Dx were 3757 (2.7) and 6543 (3.4) in AP; 1836 (4.7) and 3485 (6.9) in CP cohort respectively. Readmission burden was disproportionately high due to alcohol (etiology in 20% AP and 32% CP cohorts respectively which accounted for a readmission burden of w40-50%). Readmission patterns during follow up differed by etiology (more frequent and wider distribution in alcoholic; less frequent, occurring closer to index admission in non-alcoholic etiologies); type of pancreatitis (readmissions related to CP and in CP patients more frequent than AP) and age (more frequent and wider distribution in patients aged <65 yrs). Conclusions: Our study provides important insights into the burden and factors influencing pancreatitis readmissions. Focused evaluation of the reasons for readmissions and appropriate strategies to address them may decrease hospitalizations and reduce overall healthcare costs for pancreatitis.
Oral squamous acanthoma: Two additional cases with comments on etiology

Two new cases of squamous acanthoma are presented, and the their clinical characteristics are compared to the eight cases previously reported. These two additional examples of this lesion are clinically similar to those previously reported. However, one of the two cases exhibits resolution after the removal of sources of trauma, thus lending support to the previously proposed theory of traumatic etiology.
Development of Prothrombotic Repertoire with Progressive HIV Disease: Data from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS).

HIV infected patients may be at increased risk for VTE, as shown by case reports, and a recent retrospective, longitudinal medical record review of approximately 42,000 HIV-infected individuals (Sullivan, 2000). There is a well documented association between acute and chronic inflammation and activation of the hemostatic system. Inflammatory cytokines such as TNF alpha, IL-1 and IL-6 have been shown to activate coagulation via the Tissue Factor pathway. Inflammation can also result in a decrease in functional Protein S, and in an increase in Factor VIII coagulant protein. We hypothesized that the inflammatory state associated with more advanced HIV disease would be associated with hemostatic activation, and clinical development of VTE over time. Methods: We assayed plasma for factor VIII activity levels, functional protein S activity, presence of lupus anticoagulant, and C reactive protein levels in a group of 96 HIV infected women and 50 HIV negative women from the Women’s Interagency HIV Study (WIHS). All assays were performed blinded to subjects HIV status. This cross sectional sample of WIHS participants from the Los Angeles site were studied at their second study visit (1994-5). The sample was selected to represent the following groups: (1) History of clinical AIDS, CD 4 200; HIV-negative. Pts were excluded if they were taking any hormones or contraceptives; had been pregnant within 6 weeks of study; had any acute, active infection at the time of study visit. Hemostatic data were correlated with HIV viral load, CD4 cell count, history of clinical AIDS, history of anti-retroviral and other medication use, and levels of serum and plasma C reactive protein (CRP). Results are depicted below for median (inter-quartile range) values, adjusted for age: Models were adjusted for age. Groups are significantly different from HIV negative participants (group 4) at the indicated p-values, determined using Scheffe adjustment * p ^p + p # CRP Medians are not significantly different for the different groups. No patient or control was found to have a positive assay for the Lupus anticoagulant. We conclude: (1) Increasing progression of HIV disease, from asymptomatic, to immunologic (CD 4
What Do These Student Success Stories Tell Us

The personal stories featured in this section of the book demonstrate the need to theorize a more fluid, less rigid understanding of student transition to higher education. Even this brief glimpse into the dizzying variety of ways that students now transition to higher education and pursue a college degree suggests the need for a more open and accommodating understanding of this important transition point in American lives. The work of Trevor Gale and Stephen Parker (“Navigating Change: A Typology of Student Transition in Higher Education”) and a recent report from American College Testing (ACT) about this subject, “The Reality of College Readiness 2013,” make it abundantly clear that traditional ideas about attending college have become outmoded.
Comparison of FT-IR Transmission, Specular Reflectance, and Attenuated Total Reflectance Spectra of Polymers

Thin films of poly(methyl methacrylate) were deposited on germanium substrates and analyzed by Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy. Three types of experiments were performed: transmission, specular reflectance, and attenuated total reflectance. The spectra obtained from these experiments differed in the position, shape, and intensity of the bands even though all the experiments were performed on the same sample. These differences were the result of optical distortion effects. To account for these effects the optical constants of the polymer were determined and the expected band profiles for each experiment were calculated. The calculated and experimental spectra agreed well in both position and intensity of the bands.
Abstract 183: Chronic Systemic CB1 Cannabinoid Receptor Blockade Reduces Blood Pressure and Weight Gain and Improves Baroreflex Function and Heart Rate Variability in Hypertensive (mRen2)27 Rats

The effect of the endocannabinoid system (ECS) on weight and energy metabolism is well accepted, but long term contributions of the ECS to cardiovascular regulation are not established. Evidence for receptor and signaling interactions between the ECS and the renin-angiotensin system (RAS) in brain and vasculature is emerging. In transgenic (mRen2)27 rats, a monogenetic angiotensin (Ang) II-dependent model of hypertension with increased body mass, acute blockade of CB1 receptors in the solitary tract nucleus (NTS) restores the impaired baroreflex sensitivity (BRS) for control of heart rate to normal levels. We interpret these data as evidence for upregulation of the ECS in brain of this RAS-dependent model of hypertension. Data from the acute studies prompted us to study the effects of chronic systemic CB1 receptor blockade in (mRen2)27 rats using rimonabant (SR141716A), an orally active antagonist with central and peripheral actions. Beginning at 16 weeks of age animals were given daily oral injections of SR141716A (10 mg/kg/day; n = 6) for 28 days. In comparison to rats receiving vehicle (0.1% Tween-80 in dH2O; n = 6), daily dosing of SR141716A significantly reduced systolic blood pressure within 1 wk and by day 25 values were 172 ± 1 in control vs. 151 ± 5 mmHg in treated rats (P
Combining active-space coupled-cluster approaches with moment energy corrections via the CC(P;Q) methodology: connected quadruple excitations

ABSTRACTWe have recently proposed the CC(P;Q) methodology that provides a systematic approach to correcting the energies obtained in active-space coupled-cluster (CC) calculations for the remaining, mostly dynamical, correlations. We report the development of the CC(t,q;3) and CC(t,q;3,4) methods, which use the CC(P;Q) formalism to correct the energies obtained with the CC approach with singles, doubles and active-space triples and quadruples, termed CCSDtq, for the remaining triples [CC(t,q;3)] or the remaining triples and quadruples [CC(t,q;3,4)] missing in CCSDtq. By examining the double dissociation of water, the Be + H2 → HBeH insertion, and the singlet–triplet gap in the (HFH)− system, we demonstrate that the CC(t,q;3) and CC(t,q;3,4) methods, particularly the latter one, offer significant improvements in the CCSDtq results, reproducing the total and relative energies obtained with the CC approach with singles, doubles, triples and quadruples (CCSDTQ) to within fractions of a millihartree, at the ti...
Scattering by a coated elliptic cylinder truncated by a metal plane

A structure consisting of a metallic cylinder of elliptic cross section, coated by a conformal layer of material isorefractive to the surrounding medium, and truncated perpendicularly to its generators by a metal plane, is analyzed in the phasor domain. The electromagnetic field produced by an arbitrarily polarized incident plane wave is determined exactly.
The Relationship Between Clavien–Dindo Morbidity Classification and Oncologic Outcomes After Colorectal Cancer Resection

Limited data on the relationship between postoperative complications (POCs) after colorectal cancer resection and oncologic outcomes are available. We hypothesized that the increased severity of POCs is associated with progressively worse oncologic outcomes. Patients with pathological stages I–III colorectal adenocarcinoma undergoing elective curative resection in a single institution between 2000 and 2012 were identified from a prospectively collected database. The severity of POCs was determined using the Clavien–Dindo classification, and oncologic outcomes were assessed. Of 2266 patients, 669 (30%) had at least one POC. POCs were not associated with pathologic stage (p = 0.58) or use of adjuvant therapy (p = 0.19). With a mean follow-up of 5.3 years, POCs were associated with decreased 5-year overall survival (OS) (60% vs. 77%, p < 0.001), disease-free survival (DFS) (53% vs. 70%, p < 0.001), cancer-specific survival (CSS) (81% vs. 87%, p < 0.001), and increased overall recurrence rates (19% vs. 15%, p = 0.008). Increasing Clavien–Dindo scores from I to IV was significantly associated with progressively decreasing OS (71, 64, 60, 22%, p < 0.001), DFS (65, 58, 51, 19%, p < 0.001), CSS (88, 77, 79, 74%, p < 0.001), and increasing recurrence rates (12, 20, 26, 18%, p = 0.002). Multivariate analysis confirmed POCs as an independent factor associated with decreased OS [hazard ratio (HR) 0.63, 95% CI 0.52–0.76], DFS (HR 0.64, 95% CI 0.54–0.76), CSS (HR 0.73, 95% CI 0.56–0.97), and increased recurrence rates (HR 1.36, 95% CI 1.02–1.80). POCs are associated with adverse oncologic outcomes, with increasing effect with higher Clavien–Dindo score. Efforts to reduce both the incidence and severity of complications should result in improved oncologic outcomes.
Chiasmus and après-coup: Andalusia as trauma in Rachid Boudjedra’s La Prise de Gibraltar

ABSTRACTCritical readings of Rachid Boudjedra’s 1986 novel La Prise de Gibraltar have invariably emphasised the text’s fictionalisation of history and its debunking of foundational myths. Yet the novel’s reliance on the mythopoetic trope of al-Andalus has surprisingly received little attention. This article restores the mythical recording and affective resignification of Ṭāriq Ibn Ziyād’s 711 Andalusian conquest to the core of the novel’s take on historicity. Abdelkebir Khatibi’s reflections on the trope of al-Andalus have taught us that all engagements with the Andalusian past bear the indelible mark of trauma. Building on Khatibi’s concept of al-Andalus as ‘traumatic chiasmus’, I trace the deep-time resonance of Ṭāriq Ibn Ziyād’s conquest of Spain through its juxtaposition with the novel’s second traumatic episode – the women’s insurrection against the French in Constantine in 1955, an event that indirectly causes the narrator Tarik’s post-traumatic thyroid-related obesity. Beyond this bodily manifestat...
Environmental Control: The First Tenet of Allergy

This issue of The Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology: In Practice includes a collection of review articles covering a spectrum of environmental and policy interventions to mitigate environmental determinants of allergic respiratory disease that are relevant to the practicing clinician.
From Transactional Tasks to Personalized Care: A New Vision of Physicians’ Roles

Changes in health care delivery have affected the work that physicians are expected to perform and, in turn, their satisfaction. There is a gap between the professional mission-what physicians want to do (eg, caring relationships with patients, using intellectual and technical skills to help people, autonomy in their daily work) and what physicians spend a substantial portion of their time and energy doing (eg, data entry and forced function work). We believe that steps can be taken to align the current and future practice of medicine with the professional mission that motivates physicians and creates satisfaction. These steps focus on shifting physicians' responsibilities away from transactional tasks and towards personalized aspects of care. By taking steps to close the gap between mission and daily work, physicians will again be able to find joy, purpose, and meaning in their profession and give back what patients and society need from 21st century physicians.
Creating Work Breaks from Available Idleness

We develop new rules for assigning available service representatives to customers in customer contact centers and other large-scale service systems in order to create effective work breaks for the ...
Aberrant EGFR Signaling in Glioma

Dysregulation of receptor tyrosine kinase (RTK) signaling is a major contributor to cancer, including glioma (Pawson and Hunter 1994). In glioma, epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) is frequently amplified at the genomic level and mutated, and this is associated with poorer survival (Libermann et al., 1985; Wong et al., 1987; Ekstrand et al., 1992; Hurtt et al., 1992; Jaros et al., 1992; Schlegel et al., 1994). Here we review what is known about abnormal EGFR signaling in glioma, focusing on recent advances made with proteomics approaches, and discuss two new areas just being investigated: localization of EGFR in new cellular compartments and point mutations in its extracellular domain.
PLEURAL EFFUSIONS | Postsurgical Effusions

The majority of patients who undergo coronary artery bypass graft surgery develop a pleural effusion that is usually predominantly left sided and small. Approximately 10% of patients develop a pleural effusion that occupies more than 25% of the hemithorax and the main symptom is dyspnea. The pleural effusions usually disappear after one to three therapeutic thoracenteses. The postcardiac injury syndrome occurs after various types of trauma to the heart, including blunt trauma, myocardial infarction, and cardiac surgery. It is characterized by the development of fever, pleuropericarditis, and parenchymal pulmonary infiltrates in the weeks posttrauma. The primary symptoms are chest pain and fever. The primary treatment is the administration of anti-inflammatory agents, and sometimes corticosteroids are required. After abdominal surgery, the incidence of pleural effusion is approximately 50%. Most effusions are small, but approximately 10% of patients develop moderate to large effusions. The majority of patients postliver transplantation develop a pleural effusion. The effusions occupy more than 25% of the hemithorax in one-fourth of patients and usually are right sided or, if bilateral, larger on the right. There is increased pleural fluid production immediately after lung transplant because the lymphatics draining the pulmonary interstitial fluid are transected. Pleural effusions are not apparent immediately postoperatively because chest tubes are in place. Pleural effusions occurring more than a few weeks after lung transplantation are likely to be due to a complication of the transplant, such as acute rejection, chronic rejection, pulmonary infection, or lymphoproliferative disease.
Generation of physician-scientists manpower: a follow-up study of the first 294 graduates of the Harvard-MIT Program of Health Sciences and Technology.

BACKGROUND The MD program of the Harvard-MIT Division of Health Sciences and Technology was founded in 1970. One of its goals was the application of the academic resources of the two universities to the education of leaders in academic medicine and biomedical sciences. METHODS The first MD class was admitted in 1971. Prerequisites for admission are a strong background in quantitative sciences and demonstrated interest in research. Research and a thesis are obligatory. Enrollment in a PhD program is elective. Questionnaires were sent to 293 alumni who graduated from the MD program between 1975 and 1988, followed up by letters and telephone calls. RESULTS By 1988, 296 students had graduated, 207 with an MD only, 89 with MD-PhD degrees. Follow-up by questionnaires of 293 living graduates (92%), plus indirect data on 11 others, revealed that 212 (75%) held faculty appointments in 64 medical schools. Overall, 73.5% of respondents were engaged in research: 68% of MDs and 86% of MD-PhDs. One hundred and four (38%) respondents spent more than 50% of their time on research: 54 (29%) of MDs and 50 (60%) of MD-PhDs. Seventy-five percent of respondents were active in teaching. CONCLUSION Our experience indicates that both an MD-PhD program and a research-oriented MD program are effective in producing physician-scientists and leaders in academic medicine.
β-Carotene Protection Against Phototoxicity In Vivo

The protective ability of carotenoids in relieving the symptoms of patients suffering from certain light-sensitive diseases is well known and documented (Mathews-Roth, 1981). The present paper describes a new, related, biological property of β-carotene: protection against psoralen-induced toxicity in vivo.
Search for kilogram-scale dark matter with precision displacement sensors

The search for dark matter has been performed mainly for weakly interacting massive particles and massive compact halo objects, and the intermediate mass region has not been investigated experimentally. A method to search dark matter with precision displacement sensors is suggested for this mass range. The search is performed by detecting a characteristic motion of a test mass when it is attracted by a dark matter particle through gravity. Two different types of displacement sensors are examined: optically levitated microspheres and laser interferometers for gravitational wave detection. The state-of-the-art detectors' sensitivity is several orders of magnitude lower to put constraints on dark matter particles. Among the two types of detectors, gravitational wave detectors have higher sensitivities, and a sensitivity 10 times more than the next generation detector can potentially address the existence of dark matter particles of a few kilograms.
Shapiro 'On the Media': Name-Calling and Bullying Students and Doubters

This essay, first published in 2018, has since also been published as part of the Conclusion (Part V.D) of the author's book, "Early Shakespeare Authorship Doubts" (2019). Free excerpts of the manuscript of the book have been separately posted on SSRN. https://ssrn.com/abstract=3007393 For far too long, when it comes to the Shakespeare Authorship Question (SAQ), orthodox academics, whatever their motivations, have largely avoided the simple duty that any serious scholar has: to engage forthrightly with the evidence. Instead, such scholars, when they deign to mention the SAQ at all, have focused almost entirely on trying to denigrate or psychoanalyze authorship doubters. In its most insulting and ridiculous forms, this has involved suggestions of snobbery or even mental illness (sometimes even invoking comparisons to Holocaust denial). A milder version — almost more maddeningly smug and condescending — has been to retreat behind a fog of fashionable academic jargon, analyzing authorship doubt as a purely contingent product of modern times and cultural preoccupations. This was largely the approach taken by English Professor James Shapiro of Columbia University in his book about the SAQ, "Contested Will" (2010). Somehow, from the orthodox perspective, it is never about the simple factual and historical issue at the heart of the SAQ: Does the available evidence, fully considered in context, raise reasonable questions about who actually wrote these particular works of literature? Professor Shapiro spoke at length about the SAQ in a December 2016 interview with Brooke Gladstone on her public radio show "On the Media." This essay criticizes the way in which both Shapiro and Gladstone approached the SAQ, especially the troubling implications of Shapiro's comments for how Shakespeare authorship doubters, especially students, should be treated.
How Big of a Win are Big Ten's 4-Year Scholarships?

Discussion of the Big Ten's announcement that all of its memeber instutions will guarantee scholarships for the duration of a student-athletes enrollment.
Controllable negative differential resistance on charge transport through strained and tilted DNA molecules

A double-stranded DNA molecule subject to a perpendicular gating electric field and a small mechanical strain exhibits a negative differential resistance (NDR) in its current–voltage (I–V) characte...
Human-in-the-Loop Insulin Dosing

The last ten years of efforts in developing automated insulin dosing systems have led to one hybrid closed-loop device in the US market with more in the late stages of development. Much of the focus has been on algorithms, including closed-loop, detection of sensor and pump faults, and safety. There has been less discussion in the open literature about user interface design and related options. This article provides perspectives on automated insulin delivery (AID) system design by analyzing commonly used devices, such as bicycles and car entertainment systems. The recent Boeing 737 Max 8 disasters are used to highlight related challenges with AID systems. The role that system engineers can play in the do it yourself artificial pancreas system movement is also discussed. The human-in-the-loop remains by far the most important "component" of any AID system.