cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Ifosfamide, paclitaxel, and carboplatin, a novel triplet regimen for advanced, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix: a phase II trial.

Abstract Objectives (1) To determine the response rate of advanced, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix to ifosfamide, paclitaxel, and carboplatin chemotherapy; (2) to determine the progression free interval and survival rate in patients treated with this regimen; (3) to describe the toxicities associated with this regimen; and (4) to evaluate the quality of life of patients while on treatment. Methods Eligible patients had histologically proven stage IVB, recurrent, or persistent carcinoma of the cervix not amenable to curative treatment with surgery and/or radiation therapy. Chemotherapy was given on day 1 of a 28-day cycle: mesna (600mg/m 2 ) prior to ifosfamide (2g/m 2 ), paclitaxel (175mg/m 2 ), carboplatin (AUC 5). Response rates were determined according to RECIST criteria. Toxicity was graded according the National Cancer Institute's common toxicity criteria. Quality of life measurements were obtained using the FACT-Cx. Results Twenty-eight patients participated in this study, with 21 evaluable for response rate. Overall, 7 patients (33%) had a demonstrated objective response (4 complete responses, 3 partial responses). Stable disease was documented in 3 patients. The overall median survival for all patients was 10months. Median progression free survival for evaluable patients was 5.0months. Bone marrow suppression was the most common toxicity. There were no negative effects of this treatment regimen on quality of life assessments. Conclusion Ifosfamide, paclitaxel, and carboplatin is an effective regimen in treating advanced or recurrent carcinoma of the cervix and has an acceptable toxicity profile.
Stability and fragmentation of ejecta in hypervelocity impact

The present study offers an explanation for the behavior of debris ejected from the back surface of a target impacted by a high velocity projectile. Such debris is observed to expand as a ductile bubble and then fragment through surface instabilities when a critical expansion is achieved. An approximate model of hypervelocity impact developed by Swift et al. (1983), which assumes as expanding spherical shell of matter for the debris cloud, is introduced to motivate the analysis. We then solve for the spherically symmetric motion of, and pressures within, a spherical shell of ideal incompressible fluid subjected to inner and outer pressure boundary conditions. The solution is specialized to the freely expanding spherical shell (no pressure on the inner and outer boundaries). We then specialize further to the thin freely expanding spherical shell. Material response is extended to ideal incompressible plasticity and solutions for the radial and circumferential stress distributions are determined. Experimental results from high velocity impact tests of lead and uranium projectiles on lead and uranium targets using multiple flash radiography diagnostics (Grady et al., 1985) are compared with the theory. Although data are limited and the material and kinematic parameters somewhat uncertain, the comparison supports the physicsmore » and analysis put forth in this study. Similar comparisons are made between the analysis and computational simulations of the lead and uranium impact experiments. Again the results support the proposed mechanisms of initial inertial stability followed by plasticity-induced onset of instability and fragmentation. 13 refs., 12 figs.« less
Late Quaternary Stratigraphy of the Inner Virginia Continental Shelf: A Proposed Standard Section

A continuous seismic reflection survey indicates that the post-Miocene section of the inner Virginia Shelf is 27 m in average thickness and unconformably overlies a discordant Tertiary substrate. Vibracore data and a faunal analysis reveal three distinct sedimentary sequences separated by prominent unconformities. The oldest post-Miocene sequence has a radiocarbon age of more than 37,000 yrs B.P. It consists largely of a muddy, fine-grained sand and is characterized by lenticular stratification and prominent local channeling. It appears to represent a pre-Wisconsinan and early Wisconsinan assemblage, containing both a transgressive fluvial complex and a regressive coastal barrier complex. The overlying sequence has a radiocarbon age ranging from 25,700 ± 800 yrs, to possibly as young as 20,400 ± 850 yrs B.P. It is comprised primarily of mud, and is characterized by relatively uniform horizontal stratification. The assemblage appears to represent a regressive paralicneritic sequence developed at the end of the mid-Wisconsinan interstadial. The youngest sequence of the section has yielded a radiocarbon age of 4,200 ± 140 yrs B.P. It is comprised of a discontinuous sand sheet that mantles the modern sea floor, and which appears to have been generated through the shore face erosion of a retrograding coastal barrier complex during the Holocene transgression. Evidence suggests that it accumulated as a lag deposit on the sea floor, where it was subsequently molded into a ridge and swale topography by the Holocene hydraulic regime.
Convection and Hemoglobin-Based Oxygen Carrier Enhanced Oxygen Transport in a Hepatic Hollow Fiber Bioreactor

Hepatic hollow fiber bioreactors are a promising class of bioartificial liver assist device (BLAD). The development of this type of device is currently hindered by limited oxygen transport to cultured hepatocytes, due to low solubility of oxygen in aqueous media. In order to increase the oxygen spectrum to cultured hepatocytes housed within a hollow fiber bioreactor, several different engineering strategies were explored in this study. These included: supplementing the circulating media stream of the hollow fiber bioreactor with a hemoglobin-based oxygen carrier (bovine red blood cells) with defined oxygen binding and release kinetics and operating the bioreactor with media flow through the hollow fiber membrane into the extracapillary space (ECS). We hypothesize that these two strategies can be used to improve hepatocyte oxygenation and possibly attain an in vivo-like pO(2) spectrum, similar to that observed in vivo in the liver sinusoid. This work is significant, since provision of an in vivo-like pO(2) spectrum should create a fully functional BLAD that could potentially bridge thousands of liver failure patients towards native liver regeneration of damaged tissue or, if necessary, orthotopic liver transplantation.
Automated extraction of health resource URLs from biomedical abstracts

The World Wide Web has grown to become one of the most pervasive and comprehensive information repositories available today and many compare the knowledge contained within it to a modern day library of Alexandria. Yet, despite its vastness, one of the downsides to using Web-based information sources is that the information contained in most Web pages has never been reviewed for accuracy or quality and thus it is often considered unsuitable for application where accuracy is of critical importance. While sites of questionable quality clearly should be avoided, one cannot deny the utility and advantages of Web based resources, and thus a methodology has been developed to identify expert vetted health-related Web resources. The resultant computer software searches for biomedical abstracts via Pubmed that pertain to a health topic of interest and via regular expression based pattern matching extracts all of the URLs that appear in the article abstracts. Given that articles that appear in Pubmed typically endure peer-review processes it can be assumed that all of the resources referenced by these articles have a reasonable level of quality, since they are being cited by experts. Thus the program is able to compile a list of quality Web resources pertaining to health topics. This system has successfully been used to create a list of Influenza related Web resources as a means of illustrating its utility.
John H. Gagnon and William Simon's Sexual Conduct: The Social Sources of Human Sexuality. A 25th Anniversary Retrospective by the Authors

John Gagnon and William Simon's Sexual Conduct was first published in 1973; a paperback edition was published in 1974. It has been a highly influential study on the sociological aspects of sexualit...
The functional integrity of normally forested landscapes: A proposal for an index of environmental capital

The report of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development [(1999) Our Forests, Our Future: Report of the World Commission on Forests and Sustainable Development (Cambridge Univ. Press, Cambridge, U.K.)] has called attention to a global need to restore the functional integrity of nature. The assumption that the biophysical world is capable of supporting any intensity of economic and political activity is now obviously wrong. The failures are seen as global changes such as the global climatic disruption now underway. The global disruptions are the product of cumulative local disruptions. Despite a conspicuous need, the scientific community has been slow in developing tools to appraise the functional integrity of landscapes. The proposal is advanced that the first steps deal with forests because they are so large in their influences on global biophysics. Analyses carried out by the commission are elaborated here as an index of functional integrity in the forest zone. The proposal is based on a simple, transparent approach. The scale is 0-100 with 100 as the nominal climax. Decrements and increments are applied as the structural and functional integrity of the landscape varies with whatever cause. The unit of area for these trials has been 10,000 hectares. The index has been applied to extremes such as the large extractive reserves in Acre, Brazil (100), the once-forested landscape of Haiti (0), and a managed forest stand in Maine. The analyses offer a scalar system for defining how well landowners and governments are protecting the public's interests in the integrity of the habitat of all.
Reconfigurable double gate carbon nanotube field effect transistor based nanoelectronic architecture

Carbon nanotubes (CNTs) and carbon nanotube field effect transistors (CNFETs) have demonstrated extraordinary properties and are widely accepted as the building blocks of next generation VLSI circuits. However, no nanoelectronic architecture has been proposed which is solely based on carbon nanotubes and carbon nanotube field effect transistors. The reasons include lack of a self-assembly technology which could form complex carbon nanotube structures, or, absence of a reconfigurable carbon nanotube device which could provide functionality, reliability, and performance via reconfigurability. In this paper, I propose a novel double gate carbon nanotube field effect transistor (RDG--CNFET), which is reconfigurable to be open, short, FET, or via. Layers of orthogonal carbon nanotubes with electrically bistable molecules sandwiched at each crossing form a dense array of RDG-CNFETs and programmable interconnects, and constitute a nanoelectronic architecture of manufacturability (via regularity), reliability (via reconfigurability), and performance (via device density). Simulation based on CNFET and molecular device compact models demonstrates superior logic density, reliability, performance and power consumption of the proposed RDG-CNFET based nanoelectronic circuits compared with the existing, e.g., molecular diode/MOSFET based nanoelectronic circuits.
The Religion of the Nonreligious and the Politics of the Apolitical: The Transformation of Falun Gong from Healing Practice to Political Movement

This article applies the conflict-amplification model to the development of Falun Gong. Falun Gong emerged in the early 1990s as a health-enhancing practice and part of the state-sanctioned qigong movement in China. Faced with increasing state suspicion of qigong and fierce competition from other groups, it metamorphosed into a new religious movement in the mid-1990s. State efforts to keep Falun Gong out of the political realm had the effect of releasing the group's political potential and led to its campaign of “truth clarification,” which further alerted the state to its ideological challenge and capacity to mobilize. Through a process of mutual feedback, the antagonism between the two parties culminated in religious violence and in Falun Gong's transformation into a political movement. The organizational evolution of Falun Gong is an illustration of the religion of the nonreligious and the politics of the apolitical in an authoritarian state.
Immune markers predictive of neuropsychiatric symptoms in HIV-infected youth

The purpose of this study was to evaluate possible associations between systemic immune dysregulation (activated CD8(+) T lymphocytes and natural killer [NK] cell count/function) and symptoms of depression and anxiety in youth with horizontally (behaviorally) acquired HIV infection. This secondary analysis of a previously collected prospective cohort included 323 youth with horizontally acquired HIV infection enrolled in the Reaching for Excellence in Adolescent Care and Health (REACH) cohort of the NICHD/NIH. A multivariable linear regression model with generalized estimating equations for intraindividual repeated measures was used to examine the relationship between flow cytometry measurements of activated T lymphocytes (CD8(+) CD38(+)), NK cells (CD3(-) CD16(+) CD56(+)), and NK cell functional activity (lytic units per NK cell and per peripheral blood mononuclear cell) and their association with subsequent symptoms of depression (Center for Epidemiologic Studies depression scale) and anxiety (Revised Children's Manifest Anxiety Scale). Higher measures of NK cell functional activity were associated with fewer anxiety symptoms measured 12 months later in crude and adjusted analyses. Higher counts of activated T cells were associated with fewer depression symptoms measured 12 months later in adjusted analysis. NK cell function and activated T-lymphocyte count may be related to subsequent symptoms of depression and anxiety.
A novel method of metal ion removal and recovery from water by complex formation with polyelectrolytes

A novel method of metal removal and recovery and recovery is described. This method may be useful in connection with various types of water pollution. It is based on the fact that metal ions form water-soluble complexes with water-soluble polyelectrolytes, such as polyacids. These complexes can be precipitated with polybases and the metal can be recovered by treating the precipitate with mineral acid. The remaining polymer complex can be used again for further precipitation. Experiments with Cu2+ and Co2+ ions are given in some detail; general observations concerning other cases are included.
Studies on the life cycle and biology of Ternidens deminutus (Railliet & Henry, 1905), (Nematoda: Strongylidae).

The life cycle and biology of T. deminutus were studied and investigations were carried out on the site of infection in the host, the female to male ratio, the egg laying capacity of the female worms, the development of the eggs after leaving the host and preliminary observations on the effects of desiccation and low temperatures on the third stage larvae were made.
Aberrant Regulation of Hematopoiesis by T Cells in BAZF-Deficient Mice

The BAZF (BCL-6b) protein is highly similar to the BCL-6 transcriptional repressor. While BCL-6 has been characterized extensively, relatively little is known about the normal function of BAZF. In order to understand the physiological role of BAZF, we created BAZF-deficient mice. Unlike BCL-6-deficient mice, BAZF-deficient mice are healthy and normal in size. However, BAZF-deficient mice have a hematopoietic progenitor phenotype that is almost identical to that of BCL-6-deficient mice. Compared to wild-type mice, both BAZF-deficient and BCL-6-deficient mice have greatly reduced numbers of cycling hematopoietic progenitor cells (HPC) in the BM and greatly increased numbers of cycling HPC in the spleen. In contrast to HPC from wild-type mice, HPC from BAZF-deficient and BCL-6-deficient mice are resistant to chemokine-induced myelosuppression and do not show a synergistic growth response to granulocyte-macrophage colony-stimulating factor plus stem cell factor. Depletion of CD8 T cells in BAZF-deficient mice reverses several of the hematopoietic defects in these mice. Since both BAZF- and BCL-6-deficient mice have defects in CD8 T-cell differentiation, we hypothesize that both BCL-6 and BAZF regulate HPC homeostasis by an indirect pathway involving CD8 T cells.
Respiratory Viruses Interfere with Bacteriologic Response to Antibiotic in Children with Acute Otitis Media

Fifty-eight infants and children with acute otitis media were prospectively studied for bacterial and viral pathogenesis and response to antibiotic therapy. Tympanocentesis for bacterial and viral cultures of middle ear fluids (MEF) was done before and 2-4 days after beginning treatment. Patients were followed until the end of antibiotic course. Bacteria were cultured from the preantibiotic MEF in 43 cases (74%). Viruses were cultured from the preantibiotic MEF in 11 cases (19%); all of these MEFs also contained bacterial pathogens. A significantly higher proportion of patients with both virus and bacteria (50%) failed to respond with clearing of bacteria 2-4 days into therapy compared with the group with bacteria alone (13%). The patients with persistently positive viral cultures of the MEF seemed to have purulent otitis of longer duration. Presence of virus in the MEF may interfere with bacteriologic and clinical responses to antibiotic. The mechanism of interference deserves further investigation.
EFFECTS OF SIDEROPHORES ON Pb AND Cd ADSORPTION TO KAOLINITE

Siderophores are low molecular weight organic ligands synthesized by aerobic microorganisms to acquire Fe. In addition to Fe(III), siderophores may complex other metals such as Pb and Cd. This study compared the effects of the trihydroxamate siderophores desferrioxamine-B (DFO-B), desferrioxamine-D1 (DFO-D1), desferrioxamine-E (DFO-E), and the monohydroxamate siderophore-like ligand acetohydroxamic acid (aHA) on Pb and Cd (except for DFO-E) adsorption to kaolinite (KGa-1b) at pH 4.5 to 9, in 0.1 M NaClO4, at 22°C, in the dark. At pH >6, all of the studied ligands decreased Pb adsorption to kaolinite: aHA by 5–40% and DFO-B, DFO-D1 and DFO-E by 30–75%; the greater effects were at higher pH. The studied ligands decreased Cd adsorption to kaolinite at pH >8: aHA by 5–20% and the trihydroxamates by as much as 80%. We also observed enhancement of Pb adsorption in the presence of DFO-B at pH ≈5–6.0, probably due to adsorption of the doubly positively charged H3Pb (DFO-B)2+ complex, although spectroscopic evidence is needed.
Statistics of Distinct Clutter Classes in Midfrequency Active Sonar

The empirical distributions of normalized matched-filter echoes from a midfrequency active sonar with hyperbolic frequency-modulated waveforms in a myriad of oceanic environments are studied for three broad clutter (nontarget) classes: bottom structures, diffuse compact clutter, and compact nonstationary (moving) clutter. The distributions are characterized using the K -distribution (KD) and the generalized Pare to distribution (GPD). Methods of parameter estimation are discussed, and parameters are computed for small subregions of the clutter fields. A plot of the Kolmogorov-Smirnov (KS) goodness-of-fit statistic of individual subregions is presented for each model and class to highlight the versatility of the models when applied to large quantities of data. Cumulants are computed from the data and are utilized as features in a classifier to demonstrate separability between the classes. An important aspect of this work is the use of distinct clutter classes as opposed to collectively characterizing all clutter as reverberation. Environmental effects are not considered, as the goal of this work is to determine the utility of local clutter estimation models in practical sonar processing systems where accurate environmental data are unavailable.
Allopurinol-mediated lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitor tolerance by Clostridium beijerinckii during acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE) fermentation

In addition to glucans, xylans, and arabinans, lignocellulosic biomass hydrolysates contain significant levels of nonsugar components that are toxic to the microbes that are typically used to convert biomass to biofuels and chemicals. To enhance the tolerance of acetone–butanol–ethanol (ABE)-generating Clostridium beijerinckii NCIMB 8052 to these lignocellulose-derived microbial inhibitory compounds (LDMICs; e.g., furfural), we have been examining different metabolic perturbation strategies to increase the cellular reductant pools and thereby facilitate detoxification of LDMICs. As part of these efforts, we evaluated the effect of allopurinol, an inhibitor of NAD(P)H-generating xanthine dehydrogenase (XDH), on C. beijerinckii grown in furfural-supplemented medium and found that it unexpectedly increased the rate of detoxification of furfural by 1.4-fold and promoted growth, butanol, and ABE production by 1.2-, 2.5-, and 2-fold, respectively. Since NAD(P)H/NAD(P)+ levels in C. beijerinckii were largely unchanged upon allopurinol treatment, we postulated and validated a possible basis in DNA repair to account for the solventogenic gains with allopurinol. Following the observation that supplementation of allopurinol in the C. beijerinckii growth media mitigates the toxic effects of nalidixic acid, a DNA-damaging antibiotic, we found that allopurinol elicited 2.4- and 6.7-fold increase in the messenger RNA (mRNA) levels of xanthine and hypoxanthine phosphoribosyltransferases, key purine-salvage enzymes. Consistent with this finding, addition of inosine (a precursor of hypoxanthine) and xanthine led to 1.4- and 1.7-fold increase in butanol production in furfural-challenged cultures of C. beijerinckii. Taken together, our results provide a purine salvage-based rationale for the unanticipated effect of allopurinol in improving furfural tolerance of the ABE-fermenting C. beijerinckii.
The relationship between borderline personality disorder and major depression in later life: acute versus temperamental symptoms.

Objective A recent issue in the personality disorder field is the prevalence and course of Axis II symptoms in later life. Focusing on the presentation of personality disorder criteria over time may have some utility in exploring the relationship between borderline personality disorder (BPD) and major depression in older adults. Temperamental personality symptoms are relatively resistant to change but tend to be nonspecific to disorders, whereas acute symptoms remit relatively quickly. We predicted that temperamental BPD symptoms would be positively correlated with a history of depression and did not expect to find a relationship between major depression and acute BPD symptoms. Methods A total of 1,630 participants between the ages of 55 and 64 were recruited to participate in a community-based longitudinal study representative of the St. Louis area. Participants completed a battery of assessments at baseline, including diagnostic interviews for all 10 personality disorders and major depressive disorder. Results Temperamental and acute BPD symptoms were significantly correlated with a history of major depression. After adjustments were made for the effects of temperamental symptoms on depression, acute symptoms were no longer correlated with a history of depression. As predicted, temperamental symptoms remained significantly related to depression, even after controlling for the effects of acute symptoms. BPD acute symptoms showed a unique negative correlation with the amount of time following remission from a depressive episode. Conclusions Overall, this study supports associations between major depression and borderline personality in older adults. The findings indicate that a history of major depression is primarily related to stable BPD symptoms related to emotional distress, which are more prevalent in older adults than acute features.
Polymeric Thin Films for Electro-Optic Modulator and High Density Optical Memory Applications

Chromophores capable of undergoing conformational changes when exposed to ultraviolet or visible light have been synthesized with functional groups permitting attachment to polymer matrices. One class of such chromophores, containing reactive functionalities at both ends of the chromophore, are referred to as double-end crosslinkable (DEC) chromophores. These chromophores are used in the synthesis of hardened nonlinear optically active lattices and in the fabrication of buried channel nonlinear optical waveguides by photoprocessing; development of such waveguides represents a critical step in the production of polymeric electro-optic modulators. Such chromophores are also crucial to the phenomena of laser-assisted poling (also known as photochemically-induced poling). Finally, these chromophores are attached to the surface of polystyrene beads permitting the realization of room temperature spectral hole burning exploiting morphology-dependent resonances. Such resonances provide the basis of wavelength coding for the development of high density optical memories.
Retroviruses and the pathogenesis of schizophrenia

Schizophrenia is a complex disorder characterized by disturbances in multiple domains of brain functioning, including cognitive, emotional, and perceptual processes (1). Although the diagnostic criteria for schizophrenia have high diagnostic reliability, affected individuals may differ substantially in the specific profile of signs and symptoms that they manifest as well as in the severity and course of their illness. This heterogeneity, in concert with interindividual variability in the presence of various biological markers, has contributed to the view that what we recognize clinically as schizophrenia is likely to encompass a set of disorders that differ with respect to their underlying causes and mechanisms of disease. However, the conclusive identification of specific etiological factors or pathogenetic processes in schizophrenia has remained elusive. In this issue of PNAS, Karlsson et al. (2) provide intriguing data suggestive of a possible role for retroviruses in the etiology and/or pathogenesis of schizophrenia in some individuals.
Exposure to Chlorine Dioxide Gas for 4 Hours Renders Syphacia Ova Nonviable

The purpose of our study was to evaluate the efficacy of chlorine dioxide gas for environmental decontamination of Syphacia spp. ova. We collected Syphacia ova by perianal cellophane tape impression of pinworm-infected mice. Tapes with attached ova were exposed to chlorine dioxide gas for 1, 2, 3, or 4 h. After gas exposure, ova were incubated in hatching medium for 6 h to promote hatching. For controls, tapes with attached ova were maintained at room temperature for 1, 2, 3, and 4 h without exposure to chlorine dioxide gas and similarly incubated in hatch medium for 6 h. Ova viability after incubation was assessed by microscopic examination. Exposure to chlorine dioxide gas for 4 h rendered 100% of Syphacia spp. ova nonviable. Conversely, only 17% of ova on the 4-h control slide were nonviable. Other times of exposure to chlorine dioxide gas resulted in variable effectiveness. These data suggest that exposure to chlorine dioxide gas for at least 4 h is effective for surface decontamination of Syphacia spp. ova.
Processing of Mass Spectrometry Data in Clinical Applications

Mass spectrometry-based proteomics has become the leading approach for analyzing complex biological samples at a large-scale level. Its importance for clinical applications is more and more increasing, thanks to the development of high-performing instruments which allow the discovery of disease-specific biomarkers and an automated and rapid protein profiling of the analyzed samples. In this scenario, the large-scale production of proteomic data has driven the development of specific bioinformatic tools to assist researchers during the discovery processes. Here, we discuss the main methods, algorithms, and procedures to identify and use biomarkers for clinical and research purposes. In particular, we have been focused on quantitative approaches, the identification of proteotypic peptides, and the classification of samples, using proteomic data. Finally, this chapter is concluded by reporting the integration of experimental data with network datasets, as valuable instrument for identifying alterations that underline the emergence of specific phenotypes. Based on our experience, we show some examples taking into consideration experimental data obtained by multidimensional protein identification technology (MudPIT) approach.
Evaluation of Ultrasonic-cleaning by Electrochemical Measurement

To investigate effective ultrasonic-cleaning, the electrochemical impedance of a model cell and the ultrasoundpressure distribution of a cleaning bath have been measured. The relation between cleaning efficiency and ultrasound pressure was discussed.An electrochemical impedance cell with a blind hole, into which two stainless steel parallel plate-electrodes were mounted, was filled with mineral oil, and immersed in a cleaning solution containing sodium dodecylbenzenesulfonate and ortho sodium silicate, at room temperature. The solution was stirred by an ultrasonic generator mounted on the side wall in the bath.Soundpressure distribution patterns in the cleaning bath were obtained. No correlation was observed between the soundpressure and the oil residual amount. However, the correlation coefficient between the differential soundpressure and the oil residual amount obtained was -0.95.Electrodialysis currents migrating through a cation exchange membrane were measured in the ultrasonic-cleaning bath. The electrodialysis limiting currents decreased with increasing oil residual amounts. From this result, the oil residual amount was proportional to the diffusion film thickness of the surface
Ultrafast shock compression and shock-induced decomposition of 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene subjected to a subnanosecond-duration shock: an analysis of decomposition products.

Shock compression studies of pressed and confined ultrafine 1,3,5-triamino-2,4,6-trinitrobenzene (TATB) powder were conducted using ultrashort ∼300 ps, ∼50 GPa shock waves. The recovered decomposition products were characterized using X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, infrared spectroscopy, and Raman spectroscopy. A substantial amount of shock-related chemistry was observed. Approximately 75% of the nitrogen atoms were liberated as gas-phase species, along with ∼33% of the oxygen atoms, as a result of the applied shock. Furthermore, we observe C 1s binding energies suggesting the formation of sp3 hybridized amorphous carbon. For comparison, a carbon nitride material was also prepared and characterized by thermally pyrolizing TATB. The shock-compressed TATB and the thermally pyrolized TATB are qualitatively different, suggesting that, carbon nitrides, a possible indicator of nitrogen-rich heterocycles precursors, are not a major product class for strongly overdriven shock conditions. These experimental con...
Effects of multitasking on operator performance using computational and auditory tasks

This study investigated the effects of multiple cognitive tasks on human performance. Twenty-four students at North Carolina AT (b) auditory perception tasks (auditory perception primary and algebra problems secondary); and (c) mean false-alarm score in auditory perception (auditory detection primary and algebra problems secondary). Using signal detection theory (SDT), participants' performance measured in terms of sensitivity was calculated as -0.54 for combined tasks (algebra problems the primary task) and -0.53 auditory perceptions the primary task. During auditory perception tasks alone, SDT was found to be 2.51. Performance was 83% in a single task compared to 17% when combined tasks.
Parental Responsibility and Respondent Anger, Sympathy, and Willingness to Help Following Child Death

Relationships among attributions of responsibility, emotions of anger and sympathy, and willingness to help have been theorized, but questions about the relationship between anger and sympathy remain unclear. The present study examines 306 responses to news stories that manipulated attributions of parental responsibility following the accidental death of a child. Results confirm that attributions of responsibility increase expressions of anger and reduce sympathy and willingness to help. Respondents who express more anger show less sympathy, but anger only indirectly affects the willingness to help. Respondents who attribute less responsibility to parents express greater sympathy and more willingness to help.
Multiple Risk Factors for Osteoporosis and Fracture

The patient is a 75-year-old housewife, who underwent menopause about 20 years ago. She has a long-standing history of back and leg pain for over two decades. She was an avid treadmill user and undertook low impact exercises. There was no family history of osteoporosis or fracture. She had no prior fractures. She denies a history of smoking and reports minimal alcohol use during social occasions. She has been taking 1,200 mg calcium carbonate and a multivitamin daily as supplements. Her medications have also included hydrochlorothiazide for hypertension, crestor for hypercholesterolemia, Elavil (a tricyclic antidepressant, TCA), and Prozac (a selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor, SSRI) for chronic pain symptoms. She was also on prempro over the past 10 years initially at 0.625/2.5 mg/day, but this was later reduced to 0.3/2.5 mg/day and stopped 3 years ago. The patient underwent a bone mineral density measurement around 10 years ago with T-scores (and BMD) of −0.60 (1.032 g/cm2) at the lumbar spine and −2.6 (0.701 g/cm2) at the femoral neck. Lateral thoracolumbar spine X-rays revealed diffuse degenerative joint disease, but no evidence of compression deformity. Her FRAXTM score was 20 % and 9.5 % for all osteoporosis-related and hip, respectively. As the patient had osteoporosis and a high risk of fracture per FRAXTM, she was treated with Actonel (35 mg once a week), and while BMDs remained stable over the next 3 years, the patient fractured her right hip when she slipped and fell in her bathroom. The fracture was treated surgically by an intramedullary nail and healed normally.
Experimental philosophical logic

The purpose of this chapter is to explore the intersection of experimental philosophy and philosophical logic, an intersection I'll call experimental philosophical logic. In particular, I'll be looldng for and sketching some ways in which experimental results, and empirical results more broadly, can inform and have informed debates within philosophical logic. Here's the plan: first, I'll lay out a way of looking at the situation that makes plain at least one way in which we should expect experimental and logical concerns to overlap. Then, I'll turn to the phenomenon of vague­ ness, where we can see this overlap explored and developed from multiple angles, showing just how intimately related experiment and logic can be. Finally, I'll canvass some other cases where we have similar reasons to expect productive interactions between experimental methods and formal logic, and point to some examples of productive work in those areas.
Variations in root water potentials : influence of environmental factors for two succulent species

Average root water potential was determined with a pressure chamber for excised roots of two succulent CAM species, Agave deserti and Opuntia ficus-indica, under various environmental conditions
Hydrodynamic interactions in freely suspended liquid crystal films.

Hydrodynamic interactions play an important role in biological processes in cellular membranes, a large separation of length scales often allowing such membranes to be treated as continuous, two-dimensional (2D) fluids. We study experimentally and theoretically the hydrodynamic interaction of pairs of inclusions in two-dimensional, fluid smectic liquid crystal films suspended in air. Such smectic membranes are ideal systems for performing controlled experiments as they are mechanically stable, of highly uniform structure, and have well-defined, variable thickness, enabling experimental investigation of the crossover from 2D to 3D hydrodynamics. Our theoretical model generalizes the Levine-MacKintosh theory of point-force response functions and uses a boundary-element approach to calculate the mobility matrix for inclusions of finite extent. We describe in detail the theoretical and computational approach previously outlined in Z. Qi et al., Phys. Rev. Lett. 113, 128304 (2014) and extend the method to study the mutual mobilities of inclusions with asymmetric shapes. The model predicts well the observed mutual mobilities of pairs of circular inclusions in films and the self-mobility of a circular inclusion in the vicinity of a linear boundary.
Improving Coordination of Care Among Healthcare Professionals and Patients With Diabetes and Cancer.

BACKGROUND Patients with diabetes and cancer have higher mortality and morbidity rates, and are more likely to be hospitalized during treatment. In addition, they often prioritize cancer treatment over self-management of diabetes. OBJECTIVES This research aims to identify the issues regarding the management of diabetes in patients with cancer by examining the perspectives of oncology providers, nurses, and patients. METHODS This study used six focus groups of oncology providers, nurses, and patients with preexisting diabetes who received chemotherapy for a solid tumor or lymphoma. Participants were recruited from two outpatient cancer centers in Michigan. All focus group discussions were audio recorded and transcribed, and thematic analysis was conducted to identify common themes. FINDINGS Three overarching themes were identified by patients, nurses, and oncologists.
The Old English Name of the S-Rune and “Sun” in Germanic

The name of the Old English s-rune, sigil, as found in various medieval manuscripts, is puzzling, as it is the only Anglo-Saxon rune name that is etymologically a loan word. This article examines the variant spelling found only in MS Codex Vindobonensis 795, arguing that the spelling with is a scribal interpolation. In addressing how an Old High German-speaking scribe might have come to make such an interpolation it is argued that the word sugil found in Continental runica abecedaria ought to be considered an Old High German lexeme relevant to this discussion. A novel etymology for words for ‘sun’ in Germanic is presented, particularly for forms derived from the l-stem variants of the Proto-Indo-European heteroclite.
Cancer immunotherapy: Making allies of phagocytes.

A versatile nanovaccine platform is based on a synthetic nanoparticle that not only acts as an antigen carrier but also stimulates the STING pathway.
Canopy Separation Did Not Improve Dry-on-Vine Raisin Yield or Quality from Selma Pete Grapevines on Open Gable Trellises

Summary Goals: Dry-on-vine (DOV) raisin growers with open gable trellises can use selective cane-pruning and shoot positioning to separate grapevine canopies into distinct fruiting and renewal zones. This practice is thought to improve canopy structure and microenvironment, increasing raisin yield and quality. However, these assumptions have not yet been confirmed by research. Therefore, an experiment was conducted in which Selma Pete grapevines ( Vitis vinifera ) on open-gable trellises were subjected to one of three canopy separation treatments: non-separated; center-divided, where renewal shoots were gathered in the trellis center and supported by a foliage catch wire; or within-row alternate-bearing (WRAB), where selective pruning left canes and spurs on opposite cordons. The effects of canopy separation treatments on canopy structure, microenvironment and raisin yield, and quality were followed for three years. Key Findings: The WRAB canopy separation method generally reduced the number of leaf layers and increased the proportion of leaves on the canopy exterior in renewal shoot zones. In spring, renewal shoots in WRAB canopies had more direct sun exposure than renewal shoots in other canopy types, but light levels in WRAB canopies diminished thereafter, becoming similar to those in other canopies. Despite effects on canopy structure and microenvironment, no canopy separation method tested affected raisin yield or quality consistently. Impact and Significance: The WRAB canopy separation method affected canopy structure and microenvironment, but insufficiently to increase the yield or quality of DOV raisins on an open gable trellis. Moreover, the selective pruning required to establish WRAB canopies may reduce yield in the season following establishment, and possibly have negative effects on the fruiting zone microclimate, hindering fruit ripening or drying.
Deep-subwavelength light transmission in hybrid nanowire-loaded silicon nano-rib waveguides

Hybrid plasmonic waveguides leveraging the coupling between dielectric modes and plasmon polaritons have emerged as a major focus of research attention during the past decade. A feasible way for constructing practical hybrid plasmonic structures is to integrate metallic configurations with silicon-on-insulator waveguiding platforms. Here we report a transformative high-performance silicon-based hybrid plasmonic waveguide that consists of a silicon nano-rib loaded with a metallic nanowire. A deep-subwavelength mode area (λ2/4.5×105−λ2/7×103), in conjunction with a reasonable propagation distance (2.2–60.2 μm), is achievable at a telecommunication wavelength of 1.55 μm. Such a nano-rib-based waveguide outperforms its conventional hybrid and plasmonic waveguiding counterparts, demonstrating tighter optical confinement for similar propagation distances and a significantly enhanced figure of merit. The guiding properties of the fundamental mode are also quite robust against possible fabrication imperfections. Due to the strong confinement capability, our proposed hybrid configuration features ultralow waveguide cross talk and enables submicron bends with moderate attenuation as well. The outstanding optical performance renders such waveguides as promising building blocks for ultracompact passive and active silicon-based integrated photonic components.
Genetics and human appearance

This article discusses what is currently known about the genetic factors influencing human appearance. Aspects of both objective, or verifiable, and subjective, or perceptions of appearance, are reviewed with a focus on aspects impacting or related to body image. Specifically discussed is the knowledge obtained from family, adoption, twin, and molecular genetic studies.
Introduction to Neutrino Physics

In neutrino physics many exciting discoveries have been made in the last decades. Most importantly, the discovery of neutrino oscillations, first indicated by the Homestake experiment and finally validated by Super-Kamiokande in 1998 and SNO in 2001.
Impact of remote biometric monitoring on cost and hospitalization outcomes in peritoneal dialysis.

IntroductionPeritoneal dialysis is a home-based therapy for individuals with end-stage renal disease. Telehealth, and in particular – remote monitoring, is making inroads in managing this cohort.Me...
What happened to adventurous young people and their cool places

The essay is about ‘youth full’ change, the content of which is always partial and incomplete but it is always playful in the sense that it is generative and creative. That revolutionary playfulnes...
General Principles of Simple Shunt Lesions

There are several congenital abnormalities that cause blood flow to deviate from the normal circuit. While they may differ in regard to size, location with respect to the tricuspid valve and pressure gradient across the shunt, there are several unifying concepts that are useful in understanding the pathophysiology of simple shunt lesions.
Getting chased up the mountain: High elevation may limit performance and fitness characters in a montane insect

Climate change is expected to shift species distributions as populations grow in favourable habitats and decline in harsh ones. Montane animals escape warming conditions at low elevation by moving upslope, but may be physiologically constrained by conditions there. Effects of elevation were studied for montane populations of the leaf beetle Chrysomela aeneicollis, where allele frequencies at nuclear genes and the mitochondrion vary along latitudinal and altitudinal gradients. A population presence survey conducted along a steep altitudinal transect (1,600–3,800 m) from 1981 to 2018 revealed that populations expand to low elevation following wet winters and retreat during drought. Quantitative surveys of a 45‐site population network conducted from 2012 to 2018 along multiple altitudinal transects show that when beetles are abundant, population size peaks at 3,135 m, highest altitude populations are at the southern edge of the range, and populations decline and extirpate during drought, especially at low elevation. To examine effects of elevation on measures of performance and fitness, beetles from a genetically introgressed population (Bishop Creek) were examined. In nature, fecundity of females transplanted along natural altitudinal transects was measured, as was thorax cytochrome c oxidase (CytOx) activity. To examine effects of environmental hypoxia independent of other factors limiting persistence at high elevation, development rate and activity of malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were measured for larvae reared under otherwise common garden conditions at low (1,250 m) and high (3,800 m) elevation. In nature, fecundity declined with increasing elevation, independent of air temperature. CytOx activity was higher at high than low elevation, especially for individuals possessing genotypes of southern origin. Laboratory‐reared larvae with southern mitochondrial haplotypes developed equally well at both elevations, but larvae with northern haplotypes developed more slowly at high elevation. MDH activity showed a similar pattern, suggesting that slower development rates at high elevation may be due to reduction in metabolic rate. These findings suggest that physiological effects of environmental hypoxia may contribute to other factors known to restrict insects’ ability to persist at high elevation, ultimately disrupting associated ecological communities. However, some populations may possess genetic variation that allows for local adaption to high elevation. A plain language summary is available for this article.