cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Tetrathiafulvalene (TTF)-Functionalized Thiophene Copolymerized with 3,3‴-Didodecylquaterthiophene: Synthesis, TTF Trapping Activity, and Response to Trinitrotoluene

We report a synthesis route to a thiophene polymer where the repeat unit consists of 3,3‴-didodecylquaterthiophene (as in PQT12) plus an additional thiophene ring from which other functional groups may be projected. The hydroxymethyl form of this polymer, while only a poor semiconductor in its own right, serves as a vehicle for compatibilizing PQT12 itself with arbitrary functional groups. In this article, we focus on tetrathiafulvalene (TTF) as the functionality. As expected, the TTF group acts as a hole trap, as shown by loss of hole mobility and a surprising negative Seebeck coefficient, but this enables a current-increase response to trinitrotoluene as an analyte and confirms a similar observation we recently reported for a dissolved TTF. Added dopants also fill the trap states, restoring hole mobility and the typical positive Seebeck coefficient.
Computational modeling indicates that surface pressure can be reliably conveyed to tactile receptors even amidst changes in skin mechanics

Distinct patterns in neuronal firing are observed between classes of cutaneous afferents. Such differences may be attributed to end-organ morphology, distinct ion-channel complements, and skin microstructure, among other factors. Even for just the slowly adapting type I afferent, the skin's mechanics for a particular specimen might impact the afferent's firing properties, especially given the thickness and elasticity of skin can change dramatically over just days. Here, we show computationally that the skin can reliably convey indentation magnitude, rate, and spatial geometry to the locations of tactile receptors even amid changes in skin's structure. Using finite element analysis and neural dynamics models, we considered the skin properties of six mice that span a representative cohort. Modeling the propagation of the surface stimulus to the interior of the skin demonstrated that there can be large variance in stresses and strains near the locations of tactile receptors, which can lead to large variance in static firing rate. However, variance is significantly reduced when the stimulus tip is controlled by surface pressure and compressive stress is measured near the end organs. This particular transformation affords the least variability in predicted firing rates compared with others derived from displacement, force, strain energy density, or compressive strain. Amid changing skin mechanics, stimulus control by surface pressure may be more naturalistic and optimal and underlie how animals actively explore the tactile environment.
The imaging diagnosis of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma in children

Objective: To study the cystography and CT features of bladder rhabdomyosarcoma in children for further understanding the disease. Materials and Methods: Clinical data and imaging findings in 16 cases with bladder rhabdomyosarcoma were retrospectively analyzed. All cases had intravenous urography or cystogram, and 6 cases had CT scan. Results: Botryoidal filling defects were found in 13 cases, massive phylloid filling defects in 3 cases and rigid bladder in 6 cases in intravenous urography or cystogram. Botryoidal shadow of low-muscular density and thick-walled bladder were showed on CT scan while after the administration of contrast media the tumors were mildly or moderately enhanced. Conclusions: There are some certain radiographic characteristics in pediatric bladder rhabdomyosarcoma, we can make a correct diagnosis combining with clinical features.
Self-Propelled Nanomotors Autonomously Seek and Repair Cracks

Biological self-healing involves the autonomous localization of healing agents at the site of damage. Herein, we design and characterize a synthetic repair system where self-propelled nanomotors autonomously seek and localize at microscopic cracks and thus mimic salient features of biological wound healing. We demonstrate that these chemically powered catalytic nanomotors, composed of conductive Au/Pt spherical Janus particles, can autonomously detect and repair microscopic mechanical defects to restore the electrical conductivity of broken electronic pathways. This repair mechanism capitalizes on energetic wells and obstacles formed by surface cracks, which dramatically alter the nanomotor dynamics and trigger their localization at the defects. By developing models for self-propelled Janus nanomotors on a cracked surface, we simulate the systems’ dynamics over a range of particle speeds and densities to verify the process by which the nanomotors autonomously localize and accumulate at the cracks. We take...
Targeted Mutagenesis and Combinatorial Library Screening Enables Control of Protein Orientation on Surfaces and Increased Activity of Adsorbed Proteins

While nonspecific adsorption is widely used for immobilizing proteins on solid surfaces, the random nature of protein adsorption may reduce the activity of immobilized proteins due to occlusion of the active site. We hypothesized that the orientation a protein assumes on a given surface can be controlled by systematically introducing mutations into a region distant from its active site, thereby retaining activity of the immobilized protein. To test this hypothesis, we generated a combinatorial protein library by randomizing six targeted residues in a binding protein derived from highly stable, nonimmunoglobulin Sso7d scaffold; mutations were targeted in a region that is distant from the binding site. This library was screened to isolate binders that retain binding to its cognate target (chicken immunoglobulin Y, cIgY) as well as exhibit adsorption on unmodified silica at pH 7.4 and high ionic strength conditions. A single mutant, Sso7d-2B5, was selected for further characterization. Sso7d-2B5 retained bin...
Exponential roughness layer and analytical model for turbulent boundary layer flow over rectangular-prism roughness elements

We conduct a series of large-eddy simulations (LES) to examine the mean flow behaviour within the roughness layer of turbulent boundary layer flow over rough surfaces. We consider several configurations consisting of arrays of rectangular-prism roughness elements with various spacings, aspect ratios and height distributions. The results provide clear evidence for exponential behaviour of the mean flow with respect to the wall normal distance. Such behaviour has been proposed before (see, e.g., Cionco, 1966 Tech. Rep. DTIC document), and is represented as , where is the spatially/temporally averaged fluid velocity, is the wall normal distance, represents the height of the roughness elements and is the velocity at . The attenuation factor depends on the density of the roughness element distribution and details of the roughness distribution on the wall. Once established, the generic velocity profile shape is used to formulate a fully analytical model for the effective drag exerted by turbulent flow on a surface covered with arrays of rectangular-prism roughness elements. The approach is based on the von Karman–Pohlhausen integral method, in which a shape function is assumed for the mean velocity profile and its parameters are determined based on momentum conservation and other fundamental constraints. In order to determine the attenuation parameter , wake interactions among surface roughness elements are accounted for by using the concept of flow sheltering. The model transitions smoothly between ‘ ’ and ‘ ’ type roughness conditions depending on the surface coverage density and the detailed geometry of roughness elements. Comparisons between model predictions and experimental/numerical data from the existing literature as well as LES data from this study are presented. It is shown that the analytical model provides good predictions of mean velocity and drag forces for the cases considered, thus raising the hope that analytical roughness modelling based on surface geometry is possible, at least for cases when the location of flow separation over surface elements can be easily predicted, as in the case of wall-attached rectangular-prism roughness elements.
Network functions virtualization with soft real-time guarantees

Network functions are increasingly being commoditized as software appliances on off-the-shelf machines, popularly known as Network Functions Virtualization (NFV). While this trend provides economics of scale, a key challenge is to ensure that the performance of virtual appliances match that of hardware boxes. We present the design and implementation of NFV-RT, a system that dynamically provisions resources in an NFV environment to provide timing guarantees. Specifically, given a set of service chains that each consist of some network functions, NFV-RT aims at maximizing the total number of requests that can be assigned to the cloud for each service chain, while ensuring that the assigned requests meet their deadlines. Our approach uses a linear programming model with randomized rounding to efficiently and proactively obtain a near-optimal solution. Our simulation shows that, given a cloud with thousands of machines and service chains, NFV-RT requires only a few seconds to compute the solution, while accepting three times the requests compared to baseline heuristics. In addition, under some special settings, NFV-RT can provide significant performance improvement. Our evaluation on a local testbed shows that 94% of the packets of the submitted requests meet their deadlines, which is three times that of previous reactive-based solutions.
Faith in Politics: Public reason and religious conflict

It is impossible to live in peace with those whom we believe damned. Jean Jacques Rousseau, The Social Contract In chapter 3, I explored what I take to be the two most salient and powerful arguments in favor of the idea that citizens have a moral obligation to consult and employ secular as over religious reasons when deliberating about and deciding on political matters. I argued that Robert Audi's epistemological claims in favor of secular reasons failed to distinguish sufficiently between religious and secular reasons and provided only very weak, almost ad hoc, grounds for thinking religiously grounded claims were per se problematic. I then tried to show how Habermas' similar sorts of restrictions relied on untenable sociological claims about secularization that, even in their more nuanced, updated (i.e. “post-secular”) form, failed to do justice to religion's political possibilities even within the context of our “secular age.” Put more broadly, the previous chapter showed the weaknesses of both what we might call the moral-epistemological and the sociological case in favor of secular reasons. Neither does the job its proponents have hoped it would and so the argument in favor of deliberative restraint still needs substantiating. Of course, Habermas and Audi are not the only scholars to have engaged this question – far from it – and their claims in favor of secular reasons, while redolent of the broader public debate, actually occupy a minority position within academic circles.
Sufficient Statistics and the Information in Samples

This chapter discusses a model that presents assumptions about the family of distributions to which the parent distribution belongs. The statistical model specifies the possible range of the parameters, called the parameter space and the corresponding family of distributions. Every sample contains a certain amount of information on the parent distribution. The larger the number of observations in the sample is the more information it contains on the distribution under consideration. One can start with the investigation of the question whether the sample data can be condensed by computing first the values of certain statistics, without losing information. If such statistics exist, they are called sufficient statistics. The term statistic will be used to indicate a function of the random variables, which does not involve the unknown parameters or any other unknown characteristic of their distributions. The chapter discusses two types of information functions used in statistical analysis: (1) the Fisher information function and (2) the Kullback–Leibler information function. These two information functions are somewhat related but designed to fulfill different roles. The Fisher information function is applied in various estimation problems, while the Kullback–Leibler information function has direct applications in the theory of testing hypotheses.
Thou shalt not: Religiosity and attitudes toward marijuana legalization

Abstract Substantial research supports the association between religiosity and the use of, or attitude toward, marijuana (Amoateng and Bahr 1986; Hastings and Hoge 1986; Hoffmann and Miller 1997; Steinman et al. 2008; Wallace et al. 2007). This study expands on past research by focusing on attitudes toward legalization, which has received little investigation in the extant literature (Trevino, 2002). Using the framework of social control theory, we examine variation in legalization attitudes by measures of religiosity and religious affiliation. Using three years (2006, 2008 and 2010) of General Social Survey (GSS) data, results partially support the hypothesis that greater religiosity reduces the likelihood of support for legalization. However, findings are also contrary to previous research; religious salience was not the strongest correlate of attitudes toward legalization. Theoretical, methodological, and policy implications are discussed.
Pictures and Teleology

Change is one of the fundamental facts with which the scientist deals. The philosopher is also concerned with change. His worries, however, are not those of the scientist. The scientist’s concern can be located in his efforts to construct theories to explain and predict with increasing adequacy the changes which occur in the physical world. The philosopher worries about the conceptual requirements for inquiry entailed by the efforts of the scientist.
Semantics: The Active Index

In multimedia computing, an important issue is how to index multimedia objects, so that the multimedia objects can be accessed quickly and certain actions can be performed automatically. In conventional database systems, keyword-based indexing techniques are adequate to support users’ needs. In multimedia information systems, there are many applications that cannot be properly supported by keyword-based techniques. In addition to keywords, users often want to access/manipulate multimedia objects by shape, texture, spatial relationships, etc. That is, certain features of the multimedia objects are used as indexes, and, in many cases, they cannot be represented as keywords. The representation of these feature-based indexes poses some special problems: (1) Indexes are approximately represented. (2) Indexes do not have an implicit ordering, in the sense that if a, b and c are three index values and a > b > c, it does not mean that multimedia object b is more similar to visual object a than multimedia object c. (3) Indexes may have interrelated multiple attributes.
Clinical disorders of leukocyte functions.

After being questioned by a colleague about my current endeavors with a large number of reprints, reference printouts, and writing pads apparent, I informed him that I was writing another review on clinical abnormalities of phagocyte function. Why write another such review, I was asked, as there are a number of these in the current literature (Gallin, 1981; Lohr and Snyderman, 1981; Hill, 1981a; Gallin et al., 1980; Hill, 1982; Charette and Hill, 1980; Mills and Quie, 1980; Johnston and Newman, 1977; Baehner, 1974; Stossel, 1974). That’s a very good question, which momentarily dimmed my enthusiasm for the project. I believe, however, that the study of phagocyte disorders has turned the corner from that of a purely descriptive, and somewhat inexact, science to one that is applying the rapidly developing tools of cell biology to look into the mechanisms of these fascinating disorders. Thus, cell surface receptors, membrane potential changes, ion fluxes, cyclic nucleotide alterations, protein phosphorylation, microtubule and microfilament function, as well as the various critical metabolic pathways, are being carefully dissected in polymorphonuclear keukocytes (PMNs), monocytes (Mns), and macrophages (Macs). The knowledge gained from these critically important cells in the host-defense mechanism is now spilling over into the study of other cell types, such as those in muscle, liver, bone, and nervous tissue, which are much more difficult to obtain and study. Thus, in many aspects of cell physiology, we—the phagocyte people—are at the forefront of knowledge and scientific investigation.
Structure-Function Model for Kissing Loop Interactions That Initiate Dimerization of Ty1 RNA

The genomic RNA of the retrotransposon Ty1 is packaged as a dimer into virus-like particles. The 5′ terminus of Ty1 RNA harbors cis-acting sequences required for translation initiation, packaging and initiation of reverse transcription (TIPIRT). To identify RNA motifs involved in dimerization and packaging, a structural model of the TIPIRT domain in vitro was developed from single-nucleotide resolution RNA structural data. In general agreement with previous models, the first 326 nucleotides of Ty1 RNA form a pseudoknot with a 7-bp stem (S1), a 1-nucleotide interhelical loop and an 8-bp stem (S2) that delineate two long, structured loops. Nucleotide substitutions that disrupt either pseudoknot stem greatly reduced helper-Ty1-mediated retrotransposition of a mini-Ty1, but only mutations in S2 destabilized mini-Ty1 RNA in cis and helper-Ty1 RNA in trans. Nested in different loops of the pseudoknot are two hairpins with complementary 7-nucleotide motifs at their apices. Nucleotide substitutions in either motif also reduced retrotransposition and destabilized mini- and helper-Ty1 RNA. Compensatory mutations that restore base-pairing in the S2 stem or between the hairpins rescued retrotransposition and RNA stability in cis and trans. These data inform a model whereby a Ty1 RNA kissing complex with two intermolecular kissing-loop interactions initiates dimerization and packaging.
Retrospective evaluation of and risk factor analysis for presumed fluid overload in cats with urethral obstruction: 11 cases (2002–2012)

Objective To describe patient characteristics, treatment, and outcome in male cats with urethral obstruction (UO) and fluid overload (FO), and to determine risk factors for the development of FO. Design Retrospective case-control study from 2002–2012. Animals Eleven client-owned cats with UO that developed respiratory distress secondary to suspected FO and 51 control cats with UO without FO. Interventions None. Measurements and Main Results Medical records of cats with UO and FO were identified. FO was defined as the development of respiratory distress secondary to pleural effusion or pulmonary edema while receiving IV fluids. To identify risk factors for FO, variables for cats that developed FO were compared with variables from a randomly selected control group of unaffected UO cats during the same time period. Variables analyzed included patient signalment, previous medical history, serum biochemical data, respiratory rate, cardiac auscultation abnormalities, admission systolic blood pressure, intravenous fluid administration, thoracic imaging, treatment, duration and cost of hospitalization, and outcome. Echocardiogram identified heart disease in 5/6 cats with FO. Cost (2.9 times as much) and median duration of hospitalization (4.1 vs 1.8 days) were significantly greater in cats with FO. Cats with FO were more likely to have received a fluid bolus (odds ratio [OR]: 5.1; 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.3, 20, P = 0.014), developed a heart murmur (OR: 4.5; 95% CI, 1.1–18, P = 0.028) or a gallop sound (OR: 75; 95% CI, 8.1–694, P < 0.0001). Conclusions FO is a possible complication of the treatment of UO. The administration of a fluid bolus on presentation, and the development of a heart murmur or gallop sound during treatment were the most clinically useful risk factors identified. The development of FO is associated with significant increases in both the cost and length of hospitalization, but was not associated with increased mortality.
Small but Important: Some Social Aspects of Residence Halls for College Women

(1942). Small but Important: Some Social Aspects of Residence Halls for College Women. The Journal of Higher Education: Vol. 13, No. 9, pp. 503-503.
Childhood emotional maltreatment and psychological aggression in young adult dating relationships: The moderating role of emotion communication:

This study examines childhood emotional maltreatment as a developmental predictor of psychological aggression perpetration in young adult dating couples, using a dyadic framework to account for ind...
Word Recognition, Cognitive Psychology of

Word recognition refers to a component process of language. Word recognition transforms written and spoken forms of words into linguistic representations. Historically, word recognition also referred to lexical decision performance. In lexical decision, participants judge whether individually presented letter-strings actually spell words (with respect to a target language). Linear statistical methods were applied to ‘word’ response time data to isolate component effects and thereby individuate word recognition. Component effects would be revealed in additive interactions among factors that affect ‘word’ response times. But empirical evidence has not resolved the nature of word recognition. The effort is frustrated by ubiquitous, nonadditive, interactions among word factors. Recurrent connectionist models are conducive to nonadditive interactions. Recurrent connectionist models are nonlinear dynamical systems in which each component interacts directly or indirectly with every other component. Because the models are nonlinear, small changes in parameters that control the interaction may induce large or qualitative changes (nonadditive interactions) in the performance of a model. Consequently, empirical tests of nonlinear dynamical systems focus on the stability of the interaction among system components (not component effects). Conventional methods are inadequate for this task. Advances in nonlinear modeling await advances in methodology before cognitive experiments may adequately test recurrent connectionist models.
Conclusions and Trajectories: Future Cities that are Blue and Biophilic

Blue biophilic cities represent a compelling new urban vision for the future, one appropriate both for the opportunities available and for the challenges faced by coastal cities. The marine nature all around can be the source of immense benefit for urban residents in the form of wonder, physical and mental health, purpose and meaning. At the same time, blue biophilic cities can exert leadership in ocean conservation and serve as a pioneer in shaping new and more sustainable relationships with the marine world (e.g. by re-thinking what they harvest from and grow in the ocean). It is hoped that the stories told, and the examples and ideas presented, in this book are just the beginning, and that blue biophilic cities will continue to innovate and continue to imagine and explore new connections to the marine environment.
Ophthalmology Residents' Internship Selection and Initial Trainee Confidence: An Observational Study

Purpose In this study, we set out to better understand the factors that influenced current ophthalmology residents' internship selection. We then tested the hypothesis that certain clinical or research experiences in medical school and internship may influence residents' confidence upon entering ophthalmology residency. Furthermore, we investigated whether completing internship at the same program as one's residency is correlated with confidence at the start of residency. Design Observational, cross-sectional, multicenter survey. Participants U.S. ophthalmology residents (Post Graduate Year 2/3) belonging to the class of 2018. Eighty surveys were submitted of which 63 were analyzed based on established inclusion criteria. Methods Residents responded to a 22-question online survey addressing how residents chose their internship, internship curriculum, exposure to ophthalmology in medical school and during internship, confidence level entering ophthalmology residency, confidence in managing various ocular pathologies, and factors that built confidence prior to ophthalmology residency. A Likert scale format was used for the majority of survey questions. Kruskal–Wallis testing and Fisher's exact testing were used to compare outcome variables among three groups defined by sense of confidence entering ophthalmology training. Main Outcome Measures Level of confidence at the start of ophthalmology residency. Results Quality of life and geographic location were found to be the most important factors in choosing internship programs, while obtaining ophthalmology skills was least. Although 32.3% of residents either agreed or strongly agreed that they felt confident at the start of ophthalmology residency, 42.9% disagreed or strongly disagreed. Residents who felt most confident for ophthalmology training spent more time on ophthalmology rotations in medical school (p = 0.05) or internship (p = 0.02) and worked up patients independently during their internship ophthalmology rotation (s) (0.01). Completing one's internship at the same institution as one's ophthalmology residency did not correlate with confidence entering residency. Conclusions Residents chose internships based on quality-of-life factors rather than enhancing ophthalmology training. Residents who felt confident at the start of ophthalmology residency had more hands on clinical ophthalmology experience than residents who did not feel confident. No statistically significant correlation was found between completion of internship at the same institution as one's ophthalmology residency and confidence entering residency.
A Simple Proof of Convergence for an Edge Element Discretization of Maxwell’s Equations

The time harmonic Maxwell’s equations for a lossless medium are neither elliptic or definite. Hence the analysis of numerical schemes for these equations presents some unusual difficulties. In this paper we give a simple proof, based on the use of duality, for the convergence of edge finite element methods applied to the cavity problem for Maxwell’s equations. The cavity is assumed to be a general Lipschitz polyhedron, and the mesh is assumed to be regular but not quasi-uniform.
Expressed sequence tags from stem tissue of the American chestnut, Castanea dentata

Subtracted and size-selected unsubtracted cDNA libraries were created to examine gene expression in the woody tissues of Castanea dentata. A total of 50 clones were sequenced and comparisons were made to the GenBank database. Expression analysis of 20 selected clones revealed that 13 were expressed predominantly in the stem and leaf tissues, while the other seven were present in all tissues examined.
Predictors of Adverse Outcomes in Free Flap Reconstruction: A Single-Institution Experience

ObjectiveUnderstanding the independent predictors of poor outcomes in free flap surgery is essential for patient selection. We aim to determine the independent predictors of major complications, fl...
Reciprocal nerve staining (RNS) for the concurrent detection of choline acetyltransferase and myelin basic protein on paraffin-embedded sections.

Abstract Background Objective of our work was to develop a sequential double nonfluorescent immunostaining method which allows the selective identification of myelinated motor fibers in paraffin-embedded samples of peripheral nerves. Motor recovery after a nerve gap-lesion repaired by artificial nerve-guides ("conduits") is often less complete and slower than sensory recovery. The mechanism for this is not fully understood. New method Incubation in sheep polyclonal choline acetyltransferase antibody (Abcam 18,736) at dilution of 1:150 was followed by incubation in mouse monoclonal anti-myelin basic protein antibody (Abcam 62,631) at a dilution of 1:5000. Counterstaining was performed with hematoxylin QS (Vector Labs H-3404). Results Immunostaining of choline acetyltransferase and myelin basic protein can be combined together and results show a good contrast between the light brown of the choline acetyltransferase reaction product and the green of myelin basic protein reaction product. Cell nuclei are stained blue. This new protocol retains the advantages of paraffin embedded sections such as (i) having a relatively simple methodology, (ii) years-long storage life, and (iii) easy sharing among laboratories. Comparison with existing method. This specific combinatorial protocol has never been used before on paraffin embedded sections. It has been named "reciprocal nerve staining" (RNS). Conclusions Routine combination of choline acetyltransferase and myelin basic protein immunostaining provides a highly specific, highly contrasted paraffin-embedded sections where optical differentiation of myelinated motor fibers is easy and straightforward. This method will likely simplify and speed-up the routine histological study of nerve regeneration and will contribute a better identification of the nerve motor component.
Informing Website Navigation Design with Team-Based Card Sorting

In 2016, Utah State University (USU) Libraries redesigned the library website’s main menu and underlying information architecture (IA) in response to a number of known usability problems and limita...
The notion of primordial building blocks in construction of genes and transcriptional and processing errors due to random occurrence of oligonucleotide signal sequences.

Contrary to the currently popular belief, genes (flanking and internal noncoding sequences included) that specify beta-sheet and alpha-helical proteins are not unique sequences, rather they are degenerate repeats of short primordial building block sequences that are 45 to 48 bases long in the case of genes belonging to the beta-2-microglobulin superfamily. Accordingly, a large number of base decamers, nonomers, octamers, heptamers and hexamers recur within every gene.
Anxious, but not depressive, symptoms are associated with poorer prospective memory performance in healthy college students: Preliminary evidence using the tripartite model of anxiety and depression.

Prospective memory (PM) – or memory for tasks to be completed in the future – is essential for daily functioning. Although depression and anxiety have been shown to impair PM performance, few studi...
kCARTA: a fast pseudo line-by-line radiative transfer algorithm with analytic Jacobians, fluxes, nonlocal thermodynamic equilibrium, and scattering for the infrared

Abstract. A fast pseudo-monochromatic radiative transfer package using a singular value decomposition (SVD) compressed atmospheric optical depth database has been developed, primarily for simulating radiances from hyperspectral sounding instruments (resolution ≥0.1 cm −1 ). The package has been tested extensively for clear-sky radiative transfer cases, using field campaign data and satellite instrument data. The current database uses HITRAN 2016 line parameters and is primed for use in the spectral region spanning 605 to 2830 cm −1 . Optical depths for other spectral regions (15–605 and 2830–45 000 cm −1 ) can also be generated for use by kCARTA. The clear-sky radiative transfer model computes the background thermal radiation quickly and accurately using a layer-varying diffusivity angle at each spectral point; it takes less than 30 s (on a 2.8 GHz core using four threads) to complete a radiance calculation spanning the infrared. The code can also compute non-local thermodynamic equilibrium effects for the 4 µ m CO2 region, as well as analytic temperature, gas and surface Jacobians. The package also includes flux and heating rate calculations and an interface to an infrared scattering model.
Newt and I and W

I first met Newt Gingrich when he was still teaching history at Georgia Western University. He and I were involved in the activities of the Committee for Anticipatory Democracy that Alvin Toffler created in the mid 1970s. Then for several years after he was first elected to Congress as a Republican from Georgia in 1978—and being a Republican in Georgia was unthinkable at the time—I would visit with Newt whenever I was in Washington, and it was mutually convenient.
When Death Is Not the End: Continuing Somatic Care during Postmortem Pregnancy.

Brain death during the second trimester of pregnancy creates a unique situation in which the mother is deceased, but life of the developing fetus still depends on somatic functions in the mother’s ...
A Survey of Glaucoma Surgery Practice Patterns in the Veterans Health Administration.

Introduction Glaucoma surgical practice patterns are not well described in the United States (US). This study aims to evaluate the indications for and potential barriers to glaucoma surgery in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA). Materials and methods An anonymous 10-question survey using REDCap (Nashville, TN) software was sent by mail (with web link) and email to ophthalmology chiefs at the 86 academically affiliated Veterans Affairs Medical Centers (VAMCs). Academic-affiliated VAMCs were selected because of their patient range and role in ophthalmic education. Non-responders received two reminder e-mails and two phone calls; the survey was closed after 6 weeks. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics. Results The response rate was 45% (39/86). Most respondents (92%) worked in an integrated eye clinic with both ophthalmology and optometry services. Almost half of the respondents (49%; 19/39) believed that laser trabeculoplasty (LTP) was an option for initial glaucoma therapy. Noncompliance was a commonly reported indication for LTP (95%), tube shunt procedures (65%), micro-invasive glaucoma surgery (59%), and trabeculectomy (48.7%). One third of the respondents believed that there were delays in glaucoma care. The respondents noted that significant barriers in access to surgery included lack of transportation (69%), scheduling challenges (62%), and delayed referral (62%). Conclusion This survey of glaucoma surgery practice patterns highlights the growing role of LTP and suggests that non-compliance and access remain significant barriers to glaucoma surgical care within the VHA.
Postoperative thyroid hormone supplementation rates following thyroid lobectomy.

Abstract Background Thyroid lobectomy is performed for symptomatic benign nodules, indeterminate nodules, or low-risk well-differentiated thyroid cancer. We aimed to determine factors associated with need for thyroid hormone supplementation following thyroid lobectomy. Methods We performed a retrospective single-institution cohort study of patients undergoing thyroid lobectomy from January 2016 to December 2017. Thyroid hormone supplementation was assessed postoperatively based on guidelines for thyroid stimulating hormone (TSH) level goal for benign (0.5–4.5mIU/L) or malignant ( Results One hundred patients were included and overall 47% required thyroid hormone supplementation after thyroid lobectomy: 73% of those with cancer, 38% with benign pathology (p = 0.002). Patients requiring thyroid hormone supplementation were more likely to have thyroiditis 26% versus 3.8% of those who remained euthyroid (p = 0.002); have a higher preoperative TSH: mean 1.88mIU/L (SD 1.17) versus 1.16mIU/L (SD 0.77) (p = 0.0002), and have a smaller remnant thyroid lobe adjusted for body surface area 2.99ml/m2 versus 3.72ml/m2 (p = 0.003). Conclusions After thyroid lobectomy, the need for thyroid hormone supplementation is associated with higher preoperative TSH level, thyroiditis, remnant thyroid volume, and malignancy on final pathology. The majority of patients with final pathology of carcinoma will require thyroid hormone supplementation to achieve TSH goal. For patients with benign pathology after thyroid lobectomy the majority will not require thyroid hormone supplementation to achieve TSH goal.
A Novel Underactuated End-Effector for Planar Sequential Grasping of Multiple Objects

We propose a serpentine type tendon driven underactuated end-effector design with a closing mechanism that is triggered upon contact with an object. This end-effector can grasp objects without knowing the size a priori and is able to grasp a new object while securing another one previously grasped, and so grasp multiple objects sequentially with a single DOF actuation. Design parameters based on the object dimensions are proposed. A low-cost prototype demonstrates two implementations (radius estimation and autonomous grasp of circular objects by torque control, and sequential grasps of multiple objects) of the end-effector through several experiments. A method for estimating applied internal forces is also proposed. This end-effector can benefit robotic manipulation in tasks such as fetching applications, industrial pick-and-place of single or multiple objects and human-robot hand-off interactions.
A pilot investigation of emotional regulation difficulties and mindfulness-based strategies in manic and remitted bipolar I disorder and major depressive disorder

Both bipolar disorder and major depressive disorder are characterized by difficulties in emotion regulation. Little is known about which specific emotion regulatory patterns may be transdiagnostic versus disorder specific, and how such patterns change as a function of current mood states. This preliminary investigation examined specific patterns of self-reported trait emotion regulation difficulties and mindfulness-based regulations strategies across four groups: remitted adults with bipolar I disorder (BD-remitted; n = 32), currently manic adults with bipolar I disorder (BD-manic; n = 19), remitted adults with major depressive disorder (MDD-remitted; n = 32), and healthy controls (CTL; n = 30). All three clinical groups reported significantly greater difficulties with emotion regulation and decreased overall mindfulness-based strategies. These results suggest that increased emotion regulation difficulties, decreased mindfulness, and increased emotion-driven impulsivity may be transdiagnostic across mood disorders and states, and that impulsivity may be particularly impaired during periods of mania.
Variation in Insect Richness on Six Prairie Plant Species

Insects play a fundamental role in ecosystem stability by providing important ecological services such as pollination, biological pest control, and nutrition for other organisms. Recent human-caused declines in insect populations mandate that we better understand how to improve and sustain insect diversity and abundance. The goal of our study was to identify the insects associated with 6 prairie plant species. We spent 248 hours over 3 months during 1 year monitoring insect visits to 10 replicates of ∼1-m2 patches each of Verbena brasiliensis (Brazilian Vervain, Verbenaceae), Pycnanthemum muticum (Blunt Mountainmint, Lamiaceae), Monarda fistulosa (Wild Bergamot, Lamiaceae), Eryngium yuccifolium (Rattlesnake Master, Apiaceae), Silphium gracile (Slender Rosinweed, Asteraceae), and Rudbeckia texana (Texas Coneflower, Asteraceae). We identified 11 bee species and 100 non-bee species representing 9 orders and 57 families. Insect richness varied widely among plant species: More taxa (n = 75) visited Blunt Mountainmint than any other plant species. Wild Bergamot had the fewest visiting taxa (n = 23). The majority of insects visited multiple plants, although we observed 2 bee species and 44 non-bee species on only 1 plant species. The number of unique insect visitors of each plant species varied from 1 to 19 taxa. Total insect richness was significantly greater in the morning than afternoon (χ2 = 3.7, P = 0.054). That plant diversity begets insect diversity is widely accepted, and our work suggests that inclusion of plants that are strong insect attractors could be integral to insect conservation and restoration initiatives.
Can Chemical Analysis Predict Wine Aging Capacity

Oxidation is the limiting factor in wine aging, and recently some famous wines have exhibited unexpected premature oxidation. Antioxidant assays may provide a means to assess a wine's aging potential by measuring its capacity to chemically reduce reagent components. Correlations between antioxidant activity and wine components have the highest value with flavanols, notable for their catechol and phloroglucinol moieties. Both FRAP and DPPH based methods respond strongly to catechol groups, but these functional groups do not protect wine from oxidation. An ideal assay for wine aging capacity would respond selectively to thiols, phloroglucinol moieties, SO2 and other antioxidants capable of reducing quinones. A definitive test will be to compare the various assays against the shelf life of a number of commercial wines.
Experiential Avoidance and Meaning in Life as Predictors of Valued Living: A Daily Diary Study:

Values-based interventions encourage engagement in valued living as a means to promote psychological well-being. Valued living is best operationalized as ongoing, reinforcing behavioral patterns co...
Managerial Ability and Labor Productivity

Demerjian et al. (2012) proposes that more able managers manage employees more efficiently than less able managers. However, there is little empirical evidence on the relation between managerial ability and employee performance. The goal of this study is to understand the impact of managerial ability on labor productivity. Along the line of the recent literature on managerial ability, we predict that firms with more able managers demonstrate higher labor productivity. Our results document a significant and positive relation between managerial ability and labor productivity, suggesting that more able managers are associated with higher labor productivity. We further decompose labor productivity into two components: labor efficiency and labor cost components. And we posit a positive relation between managerial ability and labor efficiency component and a negative relation between managerial ability and labor cost component. Our findings show that more able managers are associated with higher labor efficiency and lower labor cost. We also find evidence that manager ability has a greater influence on labor productivity in smaller firms. Overall, our results provides broad support for Demerjian et al.’s (2012) proposition that more able managers manage employees more efficiently than less able managers.
COVID-19 Due to Wild-Type SARS-CoV-2 More Prevalent in Adolescents and Youth than in Older Adults Based on 19 US States in Fall 2020 Prior to Vaccine Availability

PURPOSEIn a prior study, we examined data from six US states during Summer 2020, and found that prevalence of COVID-19 for adolescents and youth was significantly greater than for older adults (p<.00001) as was a prevalence-related measure: Number of cases observed / Number of cases expected (p<.005). We now extended our study to more states in Fall 2020 to confirm the prevalence relationships we found previously. Vaccines were still not available as of Fall 2020. Presumably, the SARS-CoV-2 strain circulating at the time was the wild-type lineage since no variants were reported in the US until the end of December 2020. METHODSWe examined data from 19 U.S. states experiencing surges in cases to determine prevalence of COVID-19, and a prevalence-related measure: [Number of cases observed in a given age group] / [Number of cases expected in the age group based on population demographics]. RESULTSIn 16 of the 19 states, we found that: (1) prevalence of COVID-19 for adolescents and youth was significantly greater than for older adults (p-values ranged from p<0.00001 to p = 0.0175; (2) the ratio of cases observed to cases expected was significantly greater in adolescents and youth than in older adults (p-values ranging from p< 0.00001 to p = 0.004). CONCLUSIONSOur results are consistent with our previous study in Summer 2020. The finding of lower prevalence in older adults cannot be attributed to access to vaccination since our data are from Fall 2020 when vaccinations were not yet available. Our findings with the SARS-CoV-2 wild-type strain are consistent with the findings currently being reported in the UK for the delta variant. In both studies, prevalence in adolescents and youth exceeded that in older adults. The UK findings are more pronounced perhaps because that study transpired following months of vaccinations of older adults whereas ours occurred before vaccinations were available.
Forces between mica and end-grafted statistical copolymers of sulfobetaine and oligoethylene glycol in aqueous electrolyte solutions.

Abstract This study quantified the interfacial forces associated with end-grafted, statistical (AB) co-polymers of sulfobetaine methacrylate (SBMA) and oligoethylene glycol methacrylate (OEGMA) (poly(SBMA-co-OEGMA)). Surface force apparatus measurements compared forces between mica and end-grafted copolymers containing 0, 40, or 80 mole% SBMA. Studies compared forces measured at low grafting density (weakly overlapping chains) and at high density (brushes). At high density, the range of repulsive forces did not change significantly with increasing SBMA content. By contrast, at low density, both the range and the amplitude of the repulsion increased with the percentage of SBMA in the chains. The ionic strength dependence of the film thickness and repulsive forces increased similarly with SBMA content, reflecting the increasing influence of charged monomers and their interactions with ions in solution. The forces could be described by models of simple polymers in good solvent. However, the forces and fitted model parameters change continuously with the SBMA content. The latter behavior suggests that ethyene glycol and sulfobetaine behave as non-interacting, miscible monomers that contribute independently to the interfacial forces. The results suggest that molecular scale properties of statistical poly (SBMA-co-OEGMA) films can be readily tuned by simple variation of the monomer ratios.
The Meaning of Article 2(4) in the U.N. Charter

The threatened ballistic missile attack upon Syria by the United States, in retaliation for the Syrian government’s use of chemical warfare against its own people, has elicited opinions from international lawyers and scholars on the question whether such an attack would violate international law. Invariably the legal source that is cited is Article 2(4) of the United Nations Charter. The language of Article 2(4), because it stands alone and is not tied to nor dependent upon any of the other provisions of the UN Charter, is perhaps the most important rule of international law in the modern era.
Baseline extraction-driven Parsing of handwritten mathematical expressions

We generalize recursive baseline extraction algorithms for symbol layout analysis in math expressions so that handwritten strokes may be provided as input. Specifically, baseline extraction is used for lexical analysis in a modified LL(1) parser, returning a set of candidate symbols when the leftmost or next symbol along the current baseline (from left-to-right) is requested by the parser. Candidate symbols are used to produce a forest of parse trees, and the highest ranked parse returned. Hidden Markov Models (HMMs) are used for symbol classification, and horizontal adjacency between symbols is determined using two probabilistic quadratic classifiers, one for ascenders (e.g. ‘A’) and another for centered and descender symbols (e.g. ‘y’ and ‘x’). The system placed second in the CROHME 2011 handwritten math recognition competition.