cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Containment Rhetoric and the Public Sphere: Imagining Amana, Inscribing America

Nineteenth-century presses delighted in reporting on the “spectacle” of the Amana Society, playing up the contrast between this pious communistic community of German immigrants and its “ambitious” individualistic American counterparts. These accounts employed a rhetoric of containment, a form of rhetorical imagining that contains the threat of a non-normative community. Three characteristics of this rhetoric are evident in the Amana descriptions: (1) a particular gaze that views the community as a picture; (2) a degree of praise that is simultaneously undermined by a nostalgic attitude toward the community; and (3) an assertion that the benefits of this lifestyle require an unthinkable sacrifice incompatible with the imagining audience's nature or values. Containment rhetoric neutralizes the threat of the imagined group—often by circulating its tropes and images to more public, powerful venues—and implicitly defines the group as peripheral to the larger public.
STUDIES ON THE REDISTRIBUTION OF LEUCOCYTES.—I. VARIATIONS IN THE WHITE‐CELL COUNT IN CATS SUBJECTED TO OPERATIVE PROCEDURE

1. The leucocyte count in the operated cat undergoes a spontaneous decrease for about an hour after the beginning of the operation. This decrease occurs in the visceral as well as in the peripheral vessels. The cells which are lost from the circulation are chiefly polymorphs. 2. The fall in the count is caused by the operative procedure, and not by the anaesthetic nor by the changes in the general arterial pressure. 3. The fall in the count can occur when all the abdominal viscera are removed from the circulation. 4. The lungs, the kidneys, and the spleen are capable of retaining and releasing large numbers of white cells at various times. 5. The leucocytes are not equally distributed in the various vessels of the body, and there is no constant relation between the counts in the peripheral and those in the visceral regions. I am indebted to the Dial Ciba Company for the supplies of dial used in these experiments.
Causes of SiH4 dissociation in silane dc discharges

Hydrogenated amorphous-silicon (a-Si:H) film growth on glass fibers strung between discharge electrodes is used to measure the distribution of film-producing radicals in a silane dc discharge. The measured distribution, as well as film deposition rates on the electrodes, show that typically g80% of the depositing radicals are produced in the cathode sheath. Discharge models, confirmed by the spatial distribution of optical emission, rule out the possibility that this dissociation in the sheath is due to electron impact. Collisions of energetic ions and neutrals with silane are clearly implicated as the cause of this sheath dissociation. In contrast, due to much lower ion kinetic energies, almost all dissociation is due to electron collisions in the low-power rf discharges most commonly used for film production. In addition, the ratio of the number of Si atoms deposited on all surfaces to the total number of ions collected at the dc-discharge cathode is measured to be 30, demonstrating the dominance of neutral radical deposition in these discharges.
Antiarrhythmic effects of targeted cardiac neuromodulation: is it time for clinical application?

Our understanding of the role of the autonomic nervous system in arrhythmogenesis has evolved significantly in recent years. The concept that the autonomic nervous system exerts important effects on the vulnerability to lethal cardiac arrhythmias has triggered significant interest in both basic and clinical research arenas. However, as in many areas, there has been a disconnect between the goals of clinical studies and those of experimental research. Many clinical studies have focused on evaluating indirect indices of cardiac autonomic tone, such as heart rate variability, baroreceptor sensitivity, and heart rate turbulence for sudden cardiac death risk stratification. Some have used positron emission tomography for imaging sympathetic innervation of the ventricles. 1 However, clinical application of lessons learned have been largely restricted to the use of beta-blockade and the seminal studies on left thoracic sympathectomy for patients with long QT syndrome. 2 Experimental research has made significant strides in applying different interventions to modulate the cardiac autonomic nervous system as a means of preventing and treating cardiac dysrhythmias. Many of these modalities are awaiting translation to clinical applications. Recent studies have investigated the effects of two spinal cord interventions on ventricular arrhythmogenesis. Clonidine administered via an intrathecal route to the T2‐4 subarachnoid space and thoracic spinal cord stimulation at the spinal T1‐2 levels were both found to prevent ischemiaprovoked ventricular arrhythmias in a canine model of healed myocardial infarction and superimposed pacing-induced heart failure. 3,4 Moreover, neuraxial blockade with a targeted intraspinal method (thoracic epidural anesthesia) has been shown to reduce cardiopulmonary mortality relative to general anesthesia alone and to reduce the incidence of postoperative myocardial infarction and troponin release in a wide range of patients. 5‐8 In this issue of Heart Rhythm, Mahajan et al 9 report a
Specialist training in the USA. Is the VQE really necessary

Abstract In recent years the number of foreign medical graduates pursuing higher training in the USA has declined. The primary reason is the apparently restrictive attitude of the US Federal Government and the Visa Qualifying Examination. Another reason is ignorance of the provisions of current legislation. This paper explains the law and its history and appeals for change in the interest of International Medical Education.
Personality Stability Is Associated With Better Cognitive Performance in Adulthood: Are the Stable More Able?

Objectives. Although personality is relatively stable over time, there are individual differences in the patterns and magnitude of change. There is some evidence that personality change in adulthood is related to physical health and longevity. The present study expanded this work to consider whether personality stability or change would be associated with better cognitive functioning, especially in later adulthood. Method. A total of 4,974 individuals participated in two waves of The Midlife in the United States Study (MIDUS) in 1994–1995 and 2004–2005. Participants completed the MIDUS personality inventory at both times and the Brief Test of Adult Cognition by Telephone cognitive battery at Time 2. Results. Multiple regression and analysis of covariance analyses showed that, consistent with predictions, individuals remaining stable in openness to experience and neuroticism had faster reaction times and better inductive reasoning than those who changed. Among older adults, those who remained stable or decreased in neuroticism had significantly faster reaction times than those who increased.
Chromatic input to motion processing in the absence of attention.

While several previous psychophysical and neurophysiological studies have demonstrated chromatic (red/green) input to motion processing, the nature of this input is still a matter of debate. In particular, recent controversy has developed regarding whether chromatic motion processing relies on lower-level processes [J. Neurosci. 14 (1994) 4854; 19 (1999) 6571] versus higher-level, attention- or salience-based mechanisms [Science 257 (1992) 1563; Proc. Natl. Acad. Sci. 96 (1999a) 8289; 96 (1999b) 15374]. In this study, we investigated the degree to which chromatic motion is influenced by attentional mechanisms by employing a dual-task paradigm, which allowed us to compare the strength of chromatic motion under conditions of poor versus full attention. Here, we found that for equiluminant red/green gratings, chromatic motion processing is as robust in poor, as in full, attention conditions. This lack of an attentional effect suggests that chromatic motion processing must rely, at least in part, on lower-level (i.e., preattentive) motion mechanisms. For non-equiluminant (e.g., red brighter than green) gratings, however, attention significantly modulates chromatic motion strength. Possible explanations for this latter result are discussed in the context of inherent salience differences between the bright-red and dim-green stripes of the heterochromatic grating. 2002 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.
Effect of moisture on cationic polymerization of silicone epoxy monomers

Moisture in polymerization of a cationically cured silicone epoxy monomer blend is an important parameter that affects the resulting polymer properties. We report the kinetics of the cationic polymerization of epoxy monomers as a function of water concentration, directly quantified using Karl Fischer (KF) titration that was characterized using Fourier transform infrared (FTIR) spectroscopy and also the mechanical strength of resulting polymers via diametral tensile strength measurements. Methodology and results for a silicone epoxy monomer material were compared with the same methodology applied to a “control” monomer, 3,4-epoxycyclohexylmethyl 3,4-epoxycyclohexyane carboxylate, for which moisture effects have been previously studied. Initially, an increase in moisture during cationic polymerization of epoxy caused increased rate (ROC) and degree of conversion (DOC) that for the silicone epoxy was followed by decreased DOCs for water contents approaching saturation, i.e., [H2O]∼0.19 wt %. Further, the rate of conversion was also affected by the presence of moisture with a trend analogous to the DOC. Diametral tensile strength measurements found that small amounts of water present during polymerization caused small changes in tensile strength but found polymer strengths to be significantly decreased if initial water concentrations approached saturation or were in excess of saturation. Lower strengths corresponded with reduced rates of conversion and DOCs. © 2015 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J. Appl. Polym. Sci. 2015, 132, 41831.
Mechanisms of tissue injury in lupus nephritis

Systemic lupus erythematosus is a prototypic autoimmune disease characterized by autoantibody production and immune complex formation/deposition in target organs such as the kidney. Resultant local inflammation then leads to organ damage. Nephritis, a major cause of morbidity and mortality in patients with lupus, occurs in approximately 50% of lupus patients. In the present review, we provide an overview of the current research and knowledge concerning mechanisms of renal injury in both lupus-prone mouse models and human lupus patients.
From Metaethicist to Bioethicist

I was the graduate student that Albert Jonsen so aptly describes. Bronx born and educated at the City College of New York, I emigrated to the Midwest to study at the Minnesota Center for the Philosophy of Science, where May Brodbeck, Herbert Feigl and other “logical positivists” were engaging in an ongoing dialogue with postpositivists like Paul Feyerabend and Karl Popper. In this environment, I studied philosophy of science, epistemology, and metaethics—the epistemology and logic of ethical concepts and language. I even wrote my thesis on the ur-text of the metaethical turn, G. E. Moore's Principia Ethica. Then, like other epistemologists and metaethicists, “a public disaster, the American military involvement in Southeast Asia,” as well as the burgeoning civil rights movement, drew me into the sphere of public debate.
Significant earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system, Hispaniola, 1500-2010: Implications for seismic hazard

Abstract Historical records indicate frequent seismic activity along the north‐east Caribbean plate boundary over the past 500 years, particularly on the island of Hispaniola. We use accounts of historical earthquakes to assign intensities and the intensity assignments for the 2010 Haiti earthquakes to derive an intensity attenuation relation for Hispaniola. The intensity assignments and the attenuation relation are used in a grid search to find source locations and magnitudes that best fit the intensity assignments. Here we describe a sequence of devastating earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system in the eighteenth century. An intensity magnitude M I 6.6 earthquake in 1701 occurred near the location of the 2010 Haiti earthquake, and the accounts of the shaking in the 1701 earthquake are similar to those of the 2010 earthquake. A series of large earthquakes migrating from east to west started with the 18 October 1751 M I 7.4–7.5 earthquake, probably located near the eastern end of the fault in the Dominican Republic, followed by the 21 November 1751 M I 6.6 earthquake near Port‐au‐Prince, Haiti, and the 3 June 1770 M I 7.5 earthquake west of the 2010 earthquake rupture. The 2010 Haiti earthquake may mark the beginning of a new cycle of large earthquakes on the Enriquillo fault system after 240 years of seismic quiescence. The entire Enriquillo fault system appears to be seismically active; Haiti and the Dominican Republic should prepare for future devastating earthquakes. Online Material: Table listing small earthquakes, and figures of intensity assignments and intensity magnitude estimates.
Outcome of liver transplantation in patients with hemochromatosis

Recent preliminary reports suggest a poor outcome of orthotopic liver transplantation for patients with hemochromatosis. We analyzed an institutional experience with orthotopic liver transplantation for hemochromatosis, focusing on factors contributing to increased morbidity and mortality. Between March 1988 and October 1992, nine of 249 adults (3.6%) undergoing orthotopic liver transplantation had hemochromatosis. Mean age was 53 yr (range, 42 to 62 yr), and eight of nine patients were men. The diagnosis of hemochromatosis was based on transferrin saturation > 62% and hepatic iron index > 2.0. Only two patients were known to have hemochromatosis before liver transplantation. All nine patients underwent standard cardiac evaluation before transplantation, and no patient had detectable pre-existing cardiac disease. One patient had a major operative cardiac complication as a result of pulmonary embolism and made a full recovery. Postoperatively, congestive heart failure developed in three patients and four patients had arrhythmias. One patient is undergoing phlebotomy for post-transplant cardiac complications from hemochromatosis. Two patients had primary hepatic tumors in the explant liver. There were four deaths caused by multiorgan failure with congestive heart failure (1), infection (2), and/or malignancy (2). Five patients are alive 3 to 25 mo post-transplant. The actuarial survival of the nine patients was 53% at 25 mo vs. 89% for 18 age- and sex-matched control transplant recipients (p = 0.1) and 81% for all other adult liver transplant recipients (p < 0.01). In five of seven patients, post-transplant liver biopsies revealed hepatic iron accumulation.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Using Open-Book Tests to Strengthen the Study Skills of Community-College Biology Students

The author observed that students enrolled in first-year college biology courses often had weak study skills. This longitudinal study examined the use of open-book tests to encourage reading and to assess the improvement of college students' study skills. There was a statistically significant improvement from the initial test to the final test given for the entire sample. This study also examined students with weaker study skills, as determined by their performance on the first open-book test, and found that they benefited more from open-book tests than did the overall sample. The entire sample had an average improvement of 4.47 points over the first test, which was statistically significant. However, the students with weaker study skills had an average improvement of 23.79 points.
Mebendazole Therapy of Parenteral Trichinellosis

Mebendazole was highly effective against the helminth parasite Trichinella spiralis in mice subjected to a 3-day course of treatment during the invasive and encystment phases of experimental trichinellosis. When treatment began either 2 or 4 weeks after the mice were inoculated with parasites, the number of larvae developing in the host musculature was greatly reduced by twice-daily oral administration of 3.125, 6.25, or 12.5 milligrams of mebendazole per kilogram of body weight.
Evolving Principles of Surgical Management and Prognostic Factors for Outcome in Renal Cell Carcinoma

The generally accepted principles for the surgical management of renal cell carcinoma (RCC) were first described more than 30 years ago. Since then, much has changed in the understanding of the basic biology and genetics of kidney cancer. Improvements in cross-sectional imaging has allowed for more accurate preoperative clinical staging of renal tumors, and the necessity of completing all the components of the radical nephrectomy have been questioned. Surgical techniques have also evolved, and technology has advanced to make possible new methods of managing renal tumors. The TNM staging system is currently the most extensively used system to provide prognostic information for RCC. However, data published in the last few years has led to significant controversies as to whether further revisions are needed and whether improvements can be made with the introduction of new, more accurate and predictive prognostic factors. Furthermore, the recent discovery of molecular tumor markers are expected to revolutioni...
US fusion program requirements for superconducting magnet research

Future superconducting magnets for fusion applications require improvements in materials and components to significantly enhance the feasibility and attractiveness of fusion reactors as an energy source. These improvements will derive from research and development carried out at government laboratories, universities, and in industry. Research and development carried out under the DOE Office of Fusion Energy Sciences SBIR's and STTR's can provide a significant contribution to this effort by encouraging small businesses to focus on areas of high critical current density superconductors with low to moderate ac losses, superconductors with both high and low stabilizer fraction, superconducting cables with high copper strand fractions, insulation systems that are radiation-resistant with low gas evolution and suitable for vacuum-pressure impregnation (VPI) of coils, and novel quench detectors and other types of advanced magnet system monitoring instrumentation.
Contributions of human cytochrome P450 enzymes to glyburide metabolism

Glyburide (GLB) is a widely used oral sulfonylurea for the treatment of gestational diabetes. Therapeutic use of GLB is often complicated by a substantial inter-individual variability in the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drug in human populations, which might be caused by inter-individual variations in factors such as GLB metabolism. Therefore, there has been a continued interest in identifying human cytochrome P450 (CYP) isoforms that play a major role in the metabolism of GLB. However, contrasting data are available in the present literature in this regard. In the present study, we systematically investigated the contributions of various human CYP isoforms (CYP3A4, CYP3A5, CYP2C8, CYP2C9, and CYP2C19) to in vitro metabolism of GLB. GLB depletion and metabolite formation in human liver microsomes were most significantly inhibited by the CYP3A inhibitor ketoconazole compared with the inhibitors of other CYP isoforms. Furthermore, multiple correlation analysis between GLB depletion and individual CYP activities was performed, demonstrating a significant correlation between GLB depletion and the CYP3A probe activity in 16 individual human liver microsomal preparations, but not between GLB depletion and the CYP2C19, CYP2C8, or CYP2C9 probe activity. By using recombinant supersomes overexpressing individual human CYP isoforms, we found that GLB could be depleted by all the enzymes tested; however, the intrinsic clearance (Vmax/Km) of CYP3A4 for GLB depletion was 4 – 17 times greater than that of other CYP isoforms. These results confirm that human CYP3A4 is the major enzyme invovled in the in vitro metabolism of GLB.
Unexpected death of an infant sibling.

When infants die suddenly and unexpectedly, family structures are abruptly altered. This loss and its subsequent changes affect remaining older siblings. New "big brother" and "big sister" roles are suddenly terminated, often in a catastrophic manner. Young surviving children are sometimes unable to understand the meaning of this event, its impact on the family, and their own role in what has occurred. In this study, 26 families that had sustained the sudden and unexpected death of an infant and that had surviving children were interviewed to obtain data about surviving siblings at least 10 months following the loss. Among the 26 families, there were 35 surviving siblings (ages 16 months to 6 years). The interview schedule sought information relevant to changes in patterns of sleep, toilet training, feeding habits, peer relationships, and parent-child interaction. Among these 35 surviving siblings, parents of 28 siblings (80%) perceived changes in their child9s interaction with them, 24 siblings (69%) demonstrated changes in sleep patterns following the baby9s death, and 13 siblings (37%) showed changes in social interaction. Regression in toilet training and changes in feeding patterns were infrequent and not areas of major concern for parents. These behavioral changes reflected both a continuum of adjustment by the child and a persistence of parental worries.
Attitudes Toward Muslim Lebanese Women and Relationship to Religious Resurgence: A Study of 284 University Students

Background/Introduction: The politicization of religion in the last few decades has created a climate ripe for religious resurgence in all areas of the world. The decreased role of religion among societies and effective secularization and modernization of the West have directly influenced opposing factors of “religious resurgence,” “religious fundamentalism,” and “religious revivalism” as a sense of cultural preservation and balancing new social, economic, emotional and intellectual side effects of modernization growth. The effects of religious resurgence on Muslim Lebanese women’s efforts to enhance freedom, equity, and civil rights should be explored thoroughly to provide an adequate analysis of the current needs of women in Lebanon. Methods: A survey of 284 Lebanese university student subjects, between the ages of 18-35, regarding attitudes toward women during religious resurgence was conducted over a period of five years. From the 284 subjects in this study, 124 women also reported self-assessment levels of self-esteem and life satisfaction. The authors delineate the interconnectedness among Lebanese women’s religiosity, self-esteem, and life satisfaction levels. Results: Relationships among attitudes toward women, the number of laws enacted to support women’s rights and equality, and religious resurgence reported a significant negative correlation between religious resurgence and gender equity (pConclusion: The results of this study suggest that Muslim religious resurgence tends to reinforce a bias against women. Thus, Muslim women are vulnerable within this framework and likely to continue to face major challenges in efforts to enhance their freedom, equity, and civil rights.
Promoting energy efficiency in small island states: overcoming barriers to the adoption of compact fluorescent lighting in Saint Lucia

The ‘island factor’ refers to a series of shared energy-related issues that many island nations face due to their isolation and limited population size. Under such conditions, one of the only ways to reduce energy costs for consumers is through energy efficiency ‐ including the use of energy-saving compact fluorescent light bulbs. This study uses consumer survey data to investigate how awareness, past purchasing behaviour, and demographic characteristics influence Saint Lucian consumers’ intentions to purchase energysaving compact fluorescent bulbs. The findings indicate that a lack of awareness and understanding of energy efficiency, combined with high product costs and a lack of product availability currently inhibit the adoption of compact fluorescent technologies by Saint Lucian consumers. Awareness of energy efficiency, income and geographic location are identified as significant factors related to increased use of and willingness to pay for compact fluorescent bulbs. In the discussion, possibilities for public education and cost subsidy for compact fluorescent bulb promotion are proposed.
Envisioning Human Dignity to Enhance Practice while Journeying with Rwandan Women Student Nurses Teaching-Learning Parse's Theory of Humanbecoming

California Baptist University School of Nursing opened in September 2006 as the first baccalaureate nursing education program in Riverside, California. Under the direction of Dr. Constance Milton, the curriculum was cocreated using Parse's humanbecoming school of thought as a framework. In August 2008, nursing students traveled to Rwanda where they bore witness to the transformation after the 1994 genocide. Dimensions and processes of Parse's practice methodology-illuminating meaning by explicating what is with languaging, synchronizing rhythms while dwelling with ups and downs in the struggle of connecting-separating, and mobilizing transcendence as moving beyond with the not-yet while transforming- emerged in the students' journaling as lived all-at-once amid reverence that honored the dignity and worth of the Rwandan people.
Social Movements and Organization Theory: ELITE MOBILIZATIONS FOR ANTITAKEOVER LEGISLATION, 1982–1990

Elite mobilizations play a key role in shaping the contours of social institutions. Prior research has demonstrated that mobilizations and the resulting struggles between competing elites shape the social structure of markets (Fligstein 1996), corporate governance regimes (Davis and Thompson 1994), and organizations (Fligstein 1990; Zald and Berger 1978). More recent examples in the popular press also demonstrate the use of the tactics of popular social movements by business elites. Corporate elites in the Philippines, dissatisfied with the loss of foreign direct investment and governmental corruption, supported throngs of protesters and helped them stage multiple demonstrations that led to the ouster of President Estrada (Frank 2000). Demonstrations of similar magnitude (also led by the business elite) have recently taken place in Italy (Meyer and Tarrow 1998) and South Korea. A form of elite mobilization was previewed in the United States during the late 1980s, as institutional investors sought corporate governance reform and state legislatures across the country were pressed by coalitions among business and labor to pass legislation to limit hostile takeovers of local companies (Davis and Thompson 1994). In this chapter, we use a social movement framework to study this process as a movement/countermovement dynamic, focusing on the spread of state antitakeover laws among the fifty American states. State laws regulating takeovers are highly contentious because hostile takeovers are almost always profitable for shareholders of the acquired company, and because a regime of contestable corporate control is seen as essential for the vibrancy of the American corporate sector by many scholars of law and economics.
Image transmission over the underwater acoustic channel via compressive sensing

Underwater communication systems are critical to scientific and civil missions in the ocean. High speed underwater image transmission capabilities can enable the next generation of undersea expeditions. However, current acoustic communication technologies cannot support image transmission since the ocean is a challenging communication channel. We propose a new discrete-time all-analog-processing system that combines compressive sensing (CS) techniques with nonlinear mapping as analog joint source-channel codes for the ocean channel. The CS processing generates minimum amount of information necessary for transmission. Further, it can efficiently compress the images through the exploitation of their sparsity and statistical distribution in the wavelet domain. Nonlinear mapping via space-filling curves provides protection for the CS measurements against channel distortions. Therefore, underwater images are compressed and directly coded in the analog domain, completely skipping the digitization process. It employs the conventional minimum mean squared error (MMSE) equalizer to compensate for the intersymbol interference (ISI). Simulations over the measured acoustic channel in the ocean have demonstrated reliable image transmission results.
Physical activity assessed in routine care predicts mortality after a COPD hospitalisation.

The independent relationship between physical inactivity and risk of death after an index chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) hospitalisation is unknown. We conducted a retrospective cohort study in a large integrated healthcare system. Patients were included if they were hospitalised for COPD between January 1, 2011 and December 31, 2011. All-cause mortality in the 12 months after discharge was the primary outcome. Physical activity, expressed as self-reported minutes of moderate to vigorous physical activity (MVPA), was routinely assessed at outpatient visits prior to hospitalisation. 1727 (73%) patients were inactive (0 min of MVPA per week), 412 (17%) were insufficiently active (1-149 min of MVPA per week) and 231 (10%) were active (⩾150 min of MVPA per week). Adjusted Cox regression models assessed risk of death across the MVPA categories. Among 2370 patients (55% females and mean age 73±11 years), there were 464 (20%) deaths. Patients who were insufficiently active or active had a 28% (adjusted HR 0.72 (95% CI 0.54-0.97), p=0.03) and 47% (adjusted HR 0.53 (95% CI 0.34-0.84), p<0.01) lower risk of death, respectively, in the 12 months following an index COPD hospitalisation compared to inactive patients. Any level of MVPA is associated with lower risk of all-cause mortality after a COPD hospitalisation. Routine assessment of physical activity in clinical care would identify persons at high risk for dying after COPD hospitalisation.
Myxomycetes appearing in moist chamber cultures on four different types of dead leaves

One of the microhabitats available for myxomycetes in temperate forests is represented by the layer of dead plant material that accumulates on the forest floor. This layer, referred to as the litter layer, consists mostly of dead leaves from the trees that make up the forest canopy. In the present study, leaves from four different species of trees (dogwood, red maple, sycamore and white oak) were collected from the upper portion of the litter layer and used to prepare moist chamber cultures to determine whether each type of leaf displayed evidence of supporting a different ecological assemblage of myxomycetes. Leaves were collected on two occasions, January 2012 and January 2013. Forty moist chamber cultures were prepared for each type of leaf on each date, for a total of 320 cultures for the entire study. Most of these (60.6%) yielded some evidence (either sporocarps or plasmodia) of myxomycetes, and 21 species in nine genera were represented among the 244 records of sporocarps recorded from the cultures. Members of the order Physarales made up 59% of all records, with members of the orders Stemonitales (30%) and Trichiales (11%) relatively less important. Major differences existed in the productivity of the two sets of leaf samples (with 2013 appreciably more productive than 2012) and for particular types of leaves (with dogwood characterized by an overall positive value of 92.5% and sycamore with an overall positive value of only 11.5%). Remarkably, the set of samples of sycamore leaves collected in 2013 yielded no positive cultures.
Suicide via insulin overdose in nondiabetics: the New Mexico experience.

Four cases of self-injected insulin overdose in nondiabetic individuals are presented. Included are two cases of presumed insulin overdose (no autopsy), one case with elevated vitreous insulin (autopsy), and one case with elevated postmortem blood insulin and low blood C peptide (autopsy). These cas
Stratifying cardiovascular risk in diabetes: The role of diabetes-related clinical characteristics and imaging

Diabetes is a major coronary heart disease (CHD) and cardiovascular disease (CVD) risk factor and has traditionally been classified as a CHD risk equivalent. CVD risk, however, is heterogeneous among diabetic patients and thus further evaluation is warranted before initiating or titrating preventive pharmacotherapy. Prognostic clinical characteristics of diabetes such as age of onset, duration, and severity of diabetes, as well as concomitant cardiometabolic factors account for much of the variability in CHD and CVD risk. This heterogeneity can also be evaluated directly using non-invasive imaging, which allows for a more individualized risk assessment in order to minimize both under and overtreatment. In this paper, we review guideline recommendations for atherosclerotic CVD risk assessment driving the use of statins or aspirin for certain subgroups of patients with diabetes. We further discuss imaging techniques, such as stress myocardial perfusion imaging, coronary computed tomography angiography, and coronary artery calcium (CAC) scoring that can guide the decision to treat high-risk patients. Among imaging tests, current guidelines consider CAC scoring the most appropriate risk stratification tool for asymptomatic individuals with diabetes that can guide initiating/intensifying or withholding the most aggressive pharmacological therapies among high-risk (CAC>100) or low-risk (CAC=0) individuals, respectively.
Whole organism transcriptome analysis of zebrafish models of Bardet-Biedl Syndrome and Alström Syndrome provides mechanistic insight into shared and divergent phenotypes.

Bardet-Biedl Syndrome (BBS) and Alstrom Syndrome are two pleiotropic ciliopathies with significant phenotypic overlap between them across many tissues. Although BBS and Alstrom genes are necessary for the proper function of primary cilia, their role in defects across multiple organ systems is unclear. To provide insight into the pathways underlying BBS and Alstrom phenotypes, we carried out whole organism transcriptome analysis by RNA sequencing in established zebrafish models of the syndromes. We analyzed all genes that were significantly differentially expressed and found enrichment of phenotypically significant pathways in both models. These included multiple pathways shared between the two disease models as well as those unique to each model. Notably, we identified significant downregulation of genes in pathways relevant to visual system deficits and obesity in both disorders, consistent with those shared phenotypes. In contrast, neuronal pathways were significantly downregulated only in the BBS model but not in the Alstrom model. Our observations also suggested an important role for G-protein couple receptor and calcium signaling defects in both models. Pathway network analyses of both models indicate that visual system defects may be driven by genetic mechanisms independent of other phenotypes whereas the majority of other phenotypes are a result of genetic players that contribute to multiple pathways simultaneously. Additionally, examination of genes differentially expressed in opposing directions between the two models suggest a deficit in pancreatic function in the Alstrom model, that is not present in the BBS model. These findings provide important novel insight into shared and divergent phenotypes between two similar but distinct genetic syndromes.
Simulation Study of Vehicle Stability Control System Based on Simulink

In order to solve the instability problems caused by some factors in the car driving,on the basis of analysis and research on the vehicle instability causes and control methods,the vehicle stability control system is designed,whose control amount is yaw velocity and sideslip angle,whose control means is braking the wheels appropriately.Designs of fuzzy PID controller and neural network controller and simulation are done by MATLAB/Simulink in seven degrees of freedom car model.The results showed that this control method can effectively keep the car track to follow the steering operation in a dangerous state and the method is reliable and effective.
The clinical breast exam: opportunities for R.T.s.

Breast self-examination, clinical breast examination (CBE) and mammography are important methods for the early detection of breast cancer. In this study, a nationally representative data set, the 1998 National Health Interview Survey, was used to examine the influence of CBE as a predictor of mammography utilization. The data revealed differences in the sociodemographic and health characteristics of women who had a CBE in the previous year compared with women who did not. Furthermore, a CBE in the previous year as well as other factors related to a woman's health care provider were predictors of mammography use. Opportunities for radiologic technologists to improve breast cancer detection are discussed, including the potential expansion of the scope of practice for mammography technologists.
Lossy compression of scalar sources

Introduction In normal circumstances, lossless compression reduces file sizes in the range of a factor of 2, sometimes a little more and sometimes a little less. Often it is acceptable and even necessary to tolerate some loss or distortion between the original and its reproduction. In such cases, much greater compression becomes possible. For example, the highest quality JPEG-compressed images and MP3 audio are compressed about 6 or 7 to 1. The objective is to minimize the distortion, as measured by some criterion, for a given rate in bits per sample or equivalently, minimize the rate for a given level of distortion. In this chapter, we make a modest start toward the understanding of how to compress realistic sources by presenting the theory and practice of quantization and coding of sources of independent and identically distributed random variables. Later in the chapter, we shall explain some aspects of optimal lossy compression, so that we can assess how well our methods perform compared to what is theoretically possible. Quantization The sources of data that we recognize as digital are discrete in value or amplitude and these values are represented by a finite number of bits. The set of these discrete values is a reduction from a much larger set of possible values, because of the limitations of our computers and systems in precision, storage, and transmission speed. We therefore accept the general model of our data source as continuous in value. The discretization process is called quantization.
Diasporic (dis)identification: the participatory fandom of Ms. Marvel

AbstractThis article examines Marvel Comics’ decision to recast their heroine Ms. Marvel as a Muslim, Pakistani-American teenager. Specifically, I will investigate the ways in which Ms. Marvel’s racialization challenges the conventions of American citizenship in the post-9/11 United States and how the comic depicts and constructs South Asian diasporic locations and subjectivities. My investigation includes an analysis of the comics and the external texts that surround these works, such as author and editor interviews, reviews, and various forms of public response. By reading the larger cultural materials surrounding Ms. Marvel in conjunction with theorists such as Gayatri Gopinath and Bakirathi Mani, I demonstrate the ways in which this popular visual genre becomes a vehicle for its producers to enact their South Asian/American identities. Furthermore, Ms. Marvel invites South Asian/American readers to do the same through engaged, participatory, and (dis)identificatory fan practice, which I theorize throu...
Spatial variation in mandibular bone elastic modulus and its effect on structural bending stiffness: A test case using the Taï Forest monkeys

Objectives We investigated how heterogeneity in material stiffness affects structural stiffness in the cercopithecid mandibular cortical bone. We assessed (1) whether this effect changes the interpretation of interspecific structural stiffness variation across four primate species, (2) whether the heterogeneity is random, and (3) whether heterogeneity mitigates bending stress in the jaw associated with food processing. Materials and methods The sample consisted of Tai Forest, Cote d'Ivoire, monkeys: Cercocebus atys, Piliocolobus badius, Colobus polykomos, and Cercopithecus diana. Vickers indentation hardness samples estimated elastic moduli throughout the cortical bone area of each coronal section of postcanine corpus. For each section, we calculated maximum area moment of inertia, Imax (structural mechanical property), under three models of material heterogeneity, as well as spatial autocorrelation statistics (Moran's I, IMORAN). Results When the model considered material stiffness variation and spatial patterning, Imax decreased and individual ranks based on structural stiffness changed. Rank changes were not significant across models. All specimens showed positive (nonrandom) spatial autocorrelation. Differences in IMORAN were not significant among species, and there were no discernable patterns of autocorrelation within species. Across species, significant local IMORAN was often attributed to proximity of low moduli in the alveolar process and high moduli in the basal process. Discussion While our sample did not demonstrate species differences in the degree of spatial autocorrelation of elastic moduli, there may be mechanical effects of heterogeneity (relative strength and rigidity) that do distinguish at the species or subfamilial level (i.e., colobines vs. cercopithecines). The potential connections of heterogeneity to diet and/or taxonomy remain to be discovered.
Digital Innovation and Strategic Transformation

Digital technologies and how we use them are changing the face of business, even as those technologies that underlie computers, robots, and smart equipment are rapidly evolving, becoming more powerful, and transforming organizations much faster than in the past. Significant competitive advantage is now achievable from digital innovation and transformation. This special issue aims to generate understanding of some of today's issues and looks at opportunities for tomorrow.
A Comparative Survey of the HPC and Big Data Paradigms: Analysis and Experiments

Many scientific data analytic applications need huge amounts of input, which can often consist of more than several TBs of data. This emphasizes the high I/O and processing/computational cost requirements of these algorithms. Tasks in these programs can induce more I/O operations than computations or the opposite. Hardware also includes nodes with large storage devices and/or nodes with sophisticated computational capabilities. To embrace the heterogeneity of the hardware systems in non-cloud and cloud environments, the issues of resource and job allocation in these environments need to be revisited. High-Performance Computing models, under the leadership of MPI (plus OpenMP) parallel APIs, have mostly met users' requirements in terms of high computational performance, while Big Data frameworks such as Spark have performed likewise in terms of high-level programming, resiliency and I/O handling. Therefore, in order to meet the specialized needs of scientists, there is a need for convergence between HPC and Big Data ecosystems. This paper presents a data-supported, comparative survey of the main current HPC and Big Data programming interfaces, namely MPI, OpenMP, PGAS (OpenSHMEM), Spark, and Hadoop, and their software stacks. A comprehensive experimental study of these interfaces on a set of benchmarks, namely reduction and I/O microbenchmarks, the StackExchange AnswersCount benchmark, and PageRank Benchmark has been performed on a single platform in order to achieve a fair comparison. These experiments lead to a thorough discussion about whether the envisioned convergence is needed or not, efficient or not, and whether it is the best solution to tackle future computational challenges.
Linkography ontology refinement and cyber security

The competition between cyber attackers and defenders is fundamentally a game. In this game, the stakes are high, the decisions are difficult and the timescale is very short. To date, most researchers in this area have focused on the strategic level decisions. This focus enables what-if scenarios that hinge on the opening move of the game. However, this approach does not allow for flexibility after the players choose these high-level opening moves. We compare this situation to a turn-based style of play where we hope to end the game quickly, for example, by halting the execution of a software program when we detect a signature that matches some definition of malicious.
Mechanical testing of cervical, thoracolumbar, and lumbar spine implants

Abstract The spine is a complex structure made up of multiple bones, joints, and soft tissues. The arrangement of the human spine allows us to have freedom of motion while maintaining upright walking and balance. The multiple joints and soft tissues that allow for complex motion may experience degeneration or failure, resulting in pain and loss of proper function. Low back pain is a major public health problem worldwide and the spinal implant industry is growing rapidly. Most spinal procedures in adults are performed in the cervical and lumbar regions. While the load levels in these two regions are very different, the curvature and basic anatomy have similarities; thus, implants used in these regions are tested in similar ways. This chapter focuses on the types of implants currently used in the cervical and lumbar regions and test methods to evaluate them both through standards and cadaveric testing. The summary of the test methods in this chapter is intended to provide basic considerations.
Pulsar: A Wireless Propagation-Aware Clock Synchronization Platform

In this paper, we introduce Pulsar, a wireless time transfer platform that can achieve clock synchronization to better than five nanosecond between indoor or GPS-denied devices. Nanosecond-level clock synchronization is a missing capability for many real-time applications like next-generation wireless systems that leverage spatial multiplexing to improve channel capacity and provide services like time-of-flight localization. With finegrained synchronization, both clock stability and propagation delays introduce significant sources of error. Pulsar leverages a stable clock source derived from a Chip-Scale Atomic Clock (CSAC) along with an Ultra-WideBand (UWB) radio able to perform sub-nanosecond packet timestamping to estimate and correct for clock offsets. We design and evaluate a proof-ofconcept network-wide synchronization protocol for Pulsar that selects low-jitter links to both estimate the location of nodes and reduce cumulative synchronization error across multiple hops. The Pulsar platform and protocol together provide a phase synchronized one pulse per second (1PPS) signal and 10 MHz reference clock that can be easily integrated with typical enduser applications like software-defined radios and communication systems. We experimentally evaluate the Pulsar platform in terms of clock synchronization accuracy, Allan deviation between pairwise clocks and ranging accuracy to show a clock synchronization of better than five nanoseconds per hop with an average of 2.12 ns and a standard deviation of 0.84 ns. The platform is able to identify and avoid clock error in cases where there is heavy multi-path or non-Line-of-Sight signals.
Teaching embedded systems using the Raspberry Pi and sense HAT

The Raspberry Pi [4] provides an inexpensive yet powerful computing platform. The Raspberry Pi 3, priced at approximately $35, includes a quad-core ARM processor, 1 GB of memory, Wifi, Bluetooth, a micro-SD slot (for the operating system), and I/O ports (HDMI, Ethernet, and USB.) The Sense HAT is an add-on board that plugs onto the Raspberry Pi and provides sensors, input devices, and output capabilities [3]. We have developed an embedded systems course around the Raspberry Pi and Sense HAT, taking advantage of the ability to access the sensors and I/O devices using Python and C interfaces.