cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Impact of industry competition on contract manufacturing: An empirical study of U.S. manufacturers

Abstract Anecdotal evidence from U.S. manufacturers and literature from strategy and operations research suggest that industry competition may be driving firm contract manufacturing decisions. However, there is little empirical research regarding specific drivers of contract manufacturing, particularly the effect of supplier industry competition on the use of contract manufacturing in the focal industry and how this relationship may be conditioned and moderated by focal industry characteristics. Grounded in Porter's Five-Force Model and Value Chain Perspective, the current study purports to address this research gap through an empirical examination of a panel dataset on all U.S. manufacturing industries, collected from the U.S. Economic Census. Regression results show that contract manufacturing is positively associated with supplier industry competition and the association is further moderated by focal industry competition and IT investment.
Laryngoplasty With or Without Ventriculectomy for Treatment of Left Laryngeal Hemiplegia in 230 Racehorses

Objective—The purpose of this study was to examine the influence of laryngoplasty on racing performance and to determine if any of the following variables had a significant effect on outcome: breed (Thoroughbred v Standardbred), endoscopic grade of laryngeal function, ventriculectomy versus no ventriculectomy, type of prosthetic suture used, and number of prostheses placed. Study Design—Retrospective study of laryngoplasty with or without ventriculectomy for treatment of left laryngeal hemiplegia in racehorses between 1986 and 1993. Animals or Sample Population—230 horses (174 Thoroughbreds, 56 Standardbreds). Methods—The medical records of racehorses or horses intended for racing were reviewed. Signalment, admitting complaints, physical examination findings, resting endoscopic grade of laryngeal function, type of prosthetic suture material used, number of prosthetic sutures placed, presence or absence of ventriculectomy, and postoperative complications were recorded. Results—Upper respiratory tract noise and exercise intolerance were the most common presenting complaints. Two horses had a laryngeal grade of 2, 109 horses a laryngeal grade of 3, and 119 horses a laryngeal grade of 4. Two double-strand braided polyester sutures were used in 147 horses, a single double-strand polyester suture was used in 49 horses, and a single double-strand nylon suture was used in 34 horses. Ventriculectomy was performed on 186 horses. The most common complication recognized during hospitalization was coughing in 50 horses. Telephone follow-up was obtained for 176 horses. For 168 horses, respiratory noise after surgery was decreased in 126 horses, the same in 28, and increased in 14. After hospital discharge, coughing occurred in 43 of 166 horses, and a nasal discharge occurred in 26 horses. Postoperative racing performance for 167 horses was subjectively evaluated by respondents as being improved in 69% of the horses. Overall owner satisfaction with the outcome after surgery was 81%. Of 230 horses, 178 raced at least one time after surgery. Overall, 117 horses raced three or more times before and after surgery, and 65 of these horses had improved performance index scores. None of the variables of surgical interest affected performance index scores. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Laryngoplasty with or without ventriculectomy allowed 77% of the horses to race at least one time after surgery, improved racing performance in 56% of the horses that completed three races before and after surgery, and improved subjectively evaluated racing performance in 69% of the horses.
Intellectual Property Infringements & 3D Printing: Decentralized Piracy

By drastically reducing the role of intermediaries in manufacturing, 3D printing is likely to set about the next wave of decentralized, non-commercial infringements of intellectual property rights. Drawing upon the lessons from the entertainment industry’s litigation campaign against illegal file sharing, this paper describes some of the common characteristics of decentralized piracy. I show that, like copyright enforcement on file-sharing networks, intellectual property enforcement of 3D printing faces economic and social norm complications that make traditional, litigation based enforcement ineffective and possibly counterproductive.
Golgi apparatus is involved in intracellular Ca2+ regulation in epithelial LLC-PK1 cells

Several lines of evidence suggest that the Golgi apparatus is involved in Ca2+ regulation in renal epithelial LLC-PK1 cells. Laser scanning confocal microscopy (LSCM) was employed to establish that a prominent perinuclear region is occupied mainly by the Golgi apparatus in this cell line. LSCM measurements in individual cells with the ionized Ca2+ indicator calcium green revealed that stimulation of LLC-PK1 cells with arginine vasopressin (AVP) resulted in the elevation of ionized Ca2+ levels. However, the vasopressin-induced rise in ionized Ca2+ was attenuated if the Golgi apparatus was disassembled by pretreating the cells with brefeldin A (BFA). Subcellular measurements of total Ca2+ with ion microscopy in cryogenically prepared cells indicated that 1) within 1 min of AVP treatment significant quantities of sequestered Ca2+ were released from the perinuclear Golgi region and 2) the BFA treatment reduced the total Ca2+ stored in the Golgi region. These observations indicate that the Golgi apparatus is sensitive to hormonal stimulation and may play important roles in intracellular Ca2+ regulation in LLC-PK1 cells.
That's Fairly Real

A typical course in a catalogue for any university included in its Criminal Justice program may be something like "Correctional Systems and Practices: A study of the history and philosophy of the American correctional system with an emphasis of federal and state penal institutions (Constitutional issues relating to prisoner rights are examined.)” I believe I actually took this class at St. John's University in 1996 as a course elective. I definitely taught a similar class as an adjunct professor in 2007, and I believe it was simply titled, " Corrections."To me, the sad part is that I had no actual clue what a jail, prison, or the realm of corrections was even remotely like until I became a sworn officer after I graduated college. That is what college does not inform you. Classes do not inform you that when you put a uniform on, sometimes it feels like you are walking on eggshells into the most dangerous, unforgiving environment that exists in the world as we know it, aside from being in possible military combat with bullets whizzing at your head. But, is there even a difference? I think not. Some rookies in law enforcement, and students in a criminal justice program, both of whom I teach on a daily basis throughout each year, have no idea of what may await them in a career as any type of officer.One person, male or female, may not realize the power and authority you can assume by wearing a uniform, a badge, and a firearm (once trained), and how it can be perceived in this society. Furthermore, the criminal element that is supervised, apprehended, and/or prosecuted by our criminal justice system also observes "us", and has its own viewpoints about the peace officer that is often praised, as well as scrutinized in this world. The book in your "class" doesn't tell someone that they may not come home the next day, or that they may get bit by human teeth and exposed to dangerous bodily fluids and disease. No class can train you on how to mentally deal with those things accordingly, at least in a normal college setting.This is what a student doesn't see, until that "day." What is "reality?" Reality may be not receiving a passing grade in a criminal justice class and consequently failing out of college. Reality can also be getting "shanked" by an inmate who wants to be initiated into a prison gang. What's worse? I guess that decision belongs to the individual. Maybe simply being alive to experience either is enough for some males and females. Who am I to decide what is worse or more "real" for someone? Only life can dictate that through the process of decision-making. We can only hope the reality that is chosen for one person brings a fulfillment that can indeed benefit this society.So, the student I teach, or that you speak to, is not only a Criminal Justice student, or law student, or whatever. They are a student of LIFE, and that’s our best education. What we see, hear, and feel emotionally, physically, or psychologically.That's fairly real.
Browsing metabolic and regulatory networks with BioCyc.

The BioCyc database collection at BioCyc.org integrates genome and cellular network information for more than 500 organisms. This method article describes Web-based tools for browsing metabolic and regulatory networks within BioCyc. These tools allow visualization of complete metabolic and regulatory networks, and allow the user to zoom-in on regions of the network of interest. The user can find objects of interest such as genes and metabolites within the networks, and can selectively examine the connectivity of the network. The EcoCyc database within the BioCyc collection has been extensively curated. The descriptions within EcoCyc of the Escherichia coli metabolic network and regulatory network were derived from thousands of publications. Other BioCyc databases received moderate levels of curation, or no curation at all. Those databases receiving no curation contain metabolic networks that were computationally inferred from the annotated genome sequences of each organism.
A Closer Examination of the Foreign GAAP Reconciliation Issue

The SEC requires foreign companies that list on U.S. exchanges to reconcile their net income and stockholders' equity to U.S. GAAP figures. The main objective of this study was to comprehensively re-examine whether this reconciliation provides relevant information to investors. This study examined GAAP adjustments, in total and broken down into deferred taxes, goodwill, asset revaluation, and oil and gas adjustments for both net income and stockholders' equity for the overall sample and for six country group partitions. Market reactions to several of the GAAP adjustments were found. Therefore, this study supports the SEC's continuance of the foreign GAAP reconciliation requirement.
Photoelectron Spectroscopy of cis-Nitrous Acid Anion (cis-HONO(-)).

We report photoelectron spectra of cis-HONO– formed from an association reaction of OH– and NO in a pulsed, plasma-entrainment ion source. The experimental data are assigned to the cis-HONO– isomer, which is predicted to be the global minimum on the anion potential energy surface. We do not find evidence for a significant contribution from trans-HONO–. Electron photodetachment of cis-HONO– with 1613, 1064, 532, 355, and 301 nm photons accesses the ground X 1A′ (S0) and excited a 3A″ (T1) states of neutral HONO. The photoelectron spectrum resulting from detachment forming cis-HONO (S0) exhibits a long vibrational progression, dominated by overtones and combination bands involving the central O–N stretching and ONO bending vibrations. This indicates that there is a significant change in the central O–N bond length between cis-HONO– and cis-HONO (S0). The electron affinity (EA) of cis-HONO is determined to be 0.356(8) eV. We also report the dissociation energy (D0) of cis-HONO–, forming OH– + NO, as 0.594(9...
Expression and Purification of Neurotrophin-Elastin-Like Peptide Fusion Proteins for Neural Regeneration

Neural injuries such as spinal cord injuries, traumatic brain injuries, or nerve transection injuries pose a major health problem. Neurotrophins such as nerve growth factor (NGF) or brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) have been shown to improve the outcome of neural injuries in several pre-clinical models, but their use in clinics is limited by the lack of a robust delivery system that enhances their bioavailability and half-life. We describe two fusion proteins comprising NGF or BDNF fused with elastin-like peptides (ELPs). The aim of this study was to investigate the biological activity of neurotrophin-ELP (N-ELP) fusion proteins via in vitro culture models. NGF and BDNF were cloned in front of an elastin-like polypeptide sequence V40C2. These proteins were expressed in bacteria as inclusion bodies. These fusion proteins underwent solubilization via 8 M urea and purification via inverse transition cycling (ITC). We measured the particle size and the effect of temperature on precipitated particles using dynamic light scattering (DLS). We used western blot analysis to confirm the specificity of NGF-ELP to tropomyosin receptor kinase A (TrkA) antibody and to confirm the specificity of BDNF-ELP to TrkB antibody. PC12 cells were used to perform a neurite outgrowth assay to determine the biological activity of NGF-ELP. Bioactivity of BDNF-ELP was ascertained via transfecting human epithelial kidney (HEK 293-T) cells to express the TrkB receptor. The proteins were successfully purified to high homogeneity by exploiting the phase transition property of ELPs and urea, which solubilize inclusion bodies. Using PC12 neurite outgrowth assay, we further demonstrated that the biological activity of NGF was retained in the fusion. Similarly, BDNF-ELP phosphorylated the TrkB receptor, suggesting the biological activity of BDNF was also retained in the fusion. We further show that owing to the phase transition property of ELPs in the fusion, these proteins self-assembled into nanoparticles at their respective transition temperatures. These fusion proteins are useful for neural regeneration, as they not only retain the biological activity of the neurotrophin but also self-assemble into nanoparticles, thereby simultaneously serving as drug-delivery vehicles. These nanoparticles can serve as drug depots and will increase bioavailability by limiting neurotrophin loss due to diffusion, thereby allowing controlled spatio-temporal delivery of the neurotrophin.
Cost–benefit evaluation of liposomal bupivacaine in the management of patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty

Purpose Results of a cost–benefit analysis of intraoperative use of liposomal bupivacaine for postsurgical pain management in patients undergoing total knee arthroplasty (TKA) are presented. Methods In a retrospective single-site study, clinical and cost outcomes were compared in a group of 134 consecutive patients who received liposomal bupivacaine (by local infiltration) during TKA and a propensity score–matched historical cohort of 134 patients undergoing TKA who received usual care (continuous femoral nerve blockade with conventional bupivacaine delivered via elastomeric pump). Results Postsurgical pain scores and opioid use were similar in the two study groups; the mean total amount of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs administered was lower in the liposomal bupivacaine group. Patients who received liposomal bupivacaine typically ambulated earlier than those who received usual care (22% and 3%, respectively, walked on the day of surgery; p < 0.05) and were more likely to be discharged within two days (50% versus 19%, p < 0.001); on average, liposomal bupivacaine– treated patients walked farther on the day of surgery (6.0 m versus 3.1 m, p < 0.001) and the day after surgery (63.7 m versus 25.5 m, p < 0.001) and had a shorter length of stay (LOS) (3.1 days versus 3.6 days, p < 0.03). The mean adjusted total direct hospital cost per patient was significantly lower with liposomal bupivacaine use versus usual care ($8758 versus $9213, p = 0.033). Conclusion In patients undergoing TKA, intraoperative administration of liposomal bupivacaine for management of postsurgical pain was found to offer advantages over usual care, including decreased time to ambulation and reduced hospital LOS.
SU-F-T-170: Patient Surface Dose Measurements Using Optically Stimulated Luminescence Dosimeters in Scanning Proton Beam Therapy for Breast Cancer

Purpose: To establish patient surface dose dosimetry for scanning proton beam therapy (SPBT) for breast cancer using optically stimulated luminescence dosimeters (OSLD). Methods: OSLDs were calibrated with SPB under the similar conditions as the treatments for breast cancer. A range shifter (RS) of 5 cm water equivalent thickness (WET) was used. The air gap from the surface of the range shifter to the surface of the phantom was 15 cm. A uniform planar dose generated by nominal energy of 118 MeV was delivered. The range of 118 MeV proton beam after the 5cm RS is approximately 5 cm in water, which is the common range for breast treatments. The OSLDs were placed on the surface of high density polyethylene slabs, and a bolus of 1.06 cm WET was used for buildup. A variety of dose levels in the range of 0.5 to 8 Gy were delivered. Under the same condition, an ADCL calibrated parallel plate (PP) chamber was used to measure the reference dose. The correlation between the output signals of OSLDs and the reference doses was established. The calibration of OSLD was verified against the PP chamber measurements for two SPBT breast plans calculated for two patients. Results: the least squares fitting for the OSLD calibration curve was a polynomial function to the order of 2 in the range of 0.5 to 8 Gy (RBE). The differences between the dose measured with OSLDs and PP chamber were within 3% for the two breast proton plans. Conclusion: the calibrated OSLDs under the similar conditions as the treatments can be used for patient surface dose measurements.
Abstract 4151: APC control of retinoic acid suppresses immune cell mediated intestinal proliferative response

Proceedings: AACR 107th Annual Meeting 2016; April 16-20, 2016; New Orleans, LA Adenomatous polyposis coli (APC) tumor suppressor function is centered on its role in antagonizing Wnt/B-catenin mediated colonic proliferation. Our previous studies, however, established a second role wherein APC's control of retinoic acid (RA) results in intestinal epithelial cell differentiation. Surprisingly, the loss of APC or RA alone in zebrafish embryos was not sufficient to drive nuclear accumulation of B-catenin or intestinal cell proliferation. However, combining APC or RA deficiency with a KRAS mutation was sufficient to induce nuclear localization of B-catenin and the proliferative response. In contrast, the loss of RA alone in adult zebrafish results in both intestinal differentiation defects and proliferation. We were therefore interested in investigating these seemingly contradictory results. Using adult zebrafish, we show for the first time that following loss of retinoic acid adaptive immune cells (but not innate immune cells) are indirectly required to elicit the proliferative response independent of Kras activation. We demonstrate that IL-17 secretion from adaptive immune cells in response to loss of RA predisposes colonic epithelium to inflammation resulting in compromised barrier function, loss of cell polarity, reactivation of a progenitor intestinal program, and proliferation. Importantly, we find in both mouse and human intestinal organoid cultures an evolutionarily shared response with zebrafish of T cell dependent intestinal inflammation and proliferation following loss of RA. Our model demonstrates that loss of RA causes an increase in inflammatory mediators (Cox2 and Prostaglandins) that induces infiltration of IL-17 secreting T cells. In a feed-forward loop, the IL-17 acts on the primed epithelium to up-regulate proliferative signaling mediators (Raf and Rac1). Together, these studies provide an important new perspective on the ordering of molecular events that may underlie colon tumor progression. Citation Format: Amanda K. Templeton, Saher Hammoud, Brad Cairns, David Jones. APC control of retinoic acid suppresses immune cell mediated intestinal proliferative response. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the 107th Annual Meeting of the American Association for Cancer Research; 2016 Apr 16-20; New Orleans, LA. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(14 Suppl):Abstract nr 4151.
Use of functional genomics to assess the climate change impact on Aspergillus flavus and aflatoxin production

Aspergillus flavus is an opportunistic and pathogenic fungus that infects several crops of agricultural importance and under certain conditions may produce carcinogenic mycotoxins. Rising global temperatures, disrupted precipitation patterns and increased CO2 levels that are associated with future climate conditions are expected to impact the growth and toxigenic potential of A. flavus. Both laboratory and real world observations have demonstrated this potential, especially when examining the effects of water availability and temperature. Recent experiments have also established that CO2 may also be affecting toxin production. The application of current technologies in the field of functional genomics, including genomic sequencing, RNA-seq, microarray technologies and proteomics have revealed climate change-related, abiotic regulation of the aflatoxin cluster and influence on the plant-fungus interaction. Furthermore, elevated CO2 levels have been shown to impact expression of the aflatoxin biosynthetic r...
Neoadjuvant Therapy and Surgical Consolidation for Localized Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumors

Although complete resection is the goal of surgical treatment for gastrointestinal stromal tumor (GIST), a substantial subset of patients will have disease that is locally advanced and either borderline resectable or unresectable. KIT inhibition by the oral drug imatinib is highly effective in most GISTs and can result in a measurable tumor shrinkage in a significant proportion of patients. Neoadjuvant therapy with imatinib has many potential advantages and in patients with locally advanced tumors, this treatment strategy may offer the renewed opportunity to achieve complete resection. Neoadjuvant imatinib is applicable to patients with GIST arising from the stomach as well as those with tumors arising from the esophagus, duodenum, or rectum, in which complete resection may be associated with a high morbidity. As this chapter will highlight, there is good evidence to support the use of neoadjuvant imatinib for locally advanced disease; however, the true efficacy needs to be confirmed in larger, prospective multicenter trials. Moreover, the use of neoadjuvant imatinib in GIST raises several issues that warrant further investigation.
Submission or Cooperation? Two Competing Approaches to Conflict Management in Mission Organizations

Interpersonal conflict among missionaries is a major factor contributing to missionary attrition. This paper examines two approaches to resolving conflict, one focusing on mandatory submission to authority and the other focusing on fostering cooperation between the parties in conflict. Both biblical and empirical evidence suggest that cooperation is usually the best option. Although the submission approach is often viewed as biblical, it represents a shallow understanding of the complete biblical picture and a naive and overly optimistic view of human nature. The cooperation approach better incorporates the biblical principles of servant leadership, mutual submission, and seeking one another’s interests. Empirical evidence suggests that organizations such as mission agencies may be more effective if they adopt an approach fostering cooperation as an organizational norm. Research on power and its abuse may be used to motivate missionaries to voluntarily limit their hierarchical power in order to better love and serve others. Viewing conflict as a decision making process can enable missionaries and mission organizations to more effectively find ways to minister and achieve their goals, including evangelism and church planting.
Phase II study of pazopanib in patients with von Hippel-Lindau disease.

4516Background: Von Hippel-Lindau disease (VHL) is an autosomal dominant inherited disorder. Affected individuals develop vascular neoplastic lesions in multiple sites including eye, brain, pancrea...
Energy Efficiency in Children With Myelomeningocele During Acute Use of Assistive Devices: A Pilot Study.

Due to increased metabolic demands during walking, ∼50% of children with myelomeningocele transition to wheelchair use during adolescence/early adulthood. The purpose of our pilot study involving children with myelomeningocele was to determine: (a) energy expenditure needs during acute use of common assistive devices and (b) if walking poles are a feasible assistive device. Oxygen uptake was recorded for eight (5–12 years old) children in four conditions: independent, walker, crutches, and poles. Acute pole use did not significantly differ from independent walking net energy consumption or cost. Participants consumed more energy while walking with the walker than independently. Our pilot results suggest that (a) acute use of common assistive devices while walking increases energy consumption and cost versus independent and (b) poles are feasible assistive devices, resulting in slightly increased energy requirements. Poles may have provided “just enough” support with minimal change in energy requirements f...
Choosing spouses and houses: Impaired congruence between preference and choice following damage to the ventromedial prefrontal cortex.

OBJECTIVE A well-documented effect of focal ventromedial prefrontal cortex (vmPFC) damage is a deficit in real-world decision making. An important aspect of this deficit may be a deficiency in "internal consistency" during social decision making-that is, impaired congruence between expressed preferences versus actual behavioral choices. An example of low internal consistency would be if one expressed the desire to marry someone with impeccable moral character, yet proceeded to marry someone convicted of multiple felonies. Here, we used a neuropsychological approach to investigate neural correlates of internal consistency in complex decision making. METHOD Sixteen individuals with focal vmPFC lesions, 16 brain damage comparison individuals, and 16 normal comparison individuals completed a 3-option forced-choice preference task in which choices were made using attribute sets. Participants also completed visual-analogue preference ratings to indicate how much they liked each option, and rated the influence of each attribute on their decision making. Options were either social (potential spouses) or nonsocial (potential houses). Internal consistency for a trial was defined as agreement between the choice and the most positively rated option. RESULTS A mixed design analysis of variance revealed that internal consistency between choices and preferences derived from summed attribute ratings was significantly lower for the vmPFC group relative to comparison participants, but only in the social condition (pη2 = .09), 95% CI [.002, .163]. CONCLUSIONS Internal consistency during social decisions may be deficient in patients with vmPFC damage, leading to a discrepancy between preferences and choices. The vmPFC may provide an important neural mechanism for aligning behavioral choices with expressed preferences. (PsycINFO Database Record
Montesquieu, Judicial Degeneracy, and the U.S. Supreme Court

This essay, which is aimed primarily but not exclusively at audiences in the field of philosophy, originated in a lecture prepared for a series on "Natural Moral Law and Contemporary Society" at the School of Philosophy of the Catholic University of America. Using the Supreme Court's sodomy and abortion decisions as introductory examples, the essay briefly discusses the roots of judicial hubris in American constitutional law. The essay then looks more deeply into an institutional transformation rooted in Montesquieu's insight that it is both necessary and impossible to de-politicize the judicial function. The politically moderating role performed by judges in Montesquieu's English constitution does not translate easily into the American system of written constitutions with judicial review. The essay argues that the U.S. Supreme Court is not qualified to correct written human law through appeals to higher laws, including the natural moral law, and that this conclusion is consistent with the understanding of law both in our Constitution and in St. Thomas Aquinas' Summa Theologica.
Historical Development of EXAFS

The Extended X-ray Absorption Fine Structure (EXAFS) has been known for over 50 years, but only recently has its power for structure determination been appreciated. The first experimental detection of fine structure past absorption edges were by Fricke (1920)1 and Hertz (1920).2 The first structure detected was the near edge structure (Coster 1924,3 Lindh 1921,4 19255) which could be explained by the theory of Kossel (1920).6 However, as the experimental measurements extended the detected fine structure to hundreds of eV past the edge (the EXAFS) (Ray 1929,7 Kievet and Lindsay 19308) a new explanation was required. The temperature dependence in EXAFS was first experimentally noted by Hanawalt (1931).9,10 Kronig (1931)11 first attempted an explanation of the EXAFS in condensed matter using the newly developed Quantum Mechanics. His explanation utilized the energy gaps at the Brillouin zone boundaries and thus depended explicitly on the long range order in the solid. Following Azaroff (1963)12 we will call this theory a long range order (LRO) theory and the other class of theories short range order (SRO). LRO theory is fundamentally in error, but it took over 40 years for the error to be discovered (Stern 1974).13
Die ungestüme Sonne

Ohne jede Vorwarnung wird die relativ ruhige Sonnenatmosphare gelegentlich durch Ausbruche erschuttert, wie sie in dieser Heftigkeit und Starke auf der Erde unbekannt sind. Ungeheuer energiereiche katastrophenahnliche Vorgange erzeugen dann fluchtige Blitze, sogenannte Flares, die das Sonnensystem mit starker Strahlung vom Rontgen- bis zum Radiobereich uberfluten. Bei diesen Wellenlangen lassen sich diese gewaltigen Flares gut beobachten; sie sind kurzzeitig starker als alle andere Sonnenstrahlung und gelegentlich auch alle anderen astronomischen Quellen (Abb. 7.1).
Towards a Science-Based Integrated Ozone-Fine Particle Control Strategy

Epidemiology studies relating health effects to ambient levels of ozone and fine particles have led to the modification of standards in the United States for these pollutants (substitution of an 8-h standard for ozone at 80 ppbv, and addition of 24-h and annual standards for fine particles). The interrelationships of these pollutants in the atmosphere suggest the need for an integrated, science-based strategy for their control. Secondary ozone formation has been controlled through emission controls on VOC and NOx precursors. Fine particles are secondary products largely resulting from the oxidation of precursors (SO2, NOx, and VOCs). The key intermediates in both types of secondary process are free radical species and the photochemically labile compounds that produce them in the atmosphere. However, due to the complex and nonlinear nature of the processes, reductions in precursors may lead to unexpected changes in ozone and fine particle formation rates. For example, reduction in NOx emissions may reduce ozone and nitric acid levels, but lead also to increased rates of sulfate formation in clouds and increased ammonia availability for neutralization of acidic sulfate aerosols. Reductions of SO2 may reduce aerosol sulfate levels in the summer, but have no effect in other seasons. Reductions in VOCs may reduce ozone levels in urban core areas, but not elsewhere. An integrated, regionally and seasonally specific, emission reduction strategy is needed to cost-effectively reduce both ozone and fine particle levels.
ConfChem Conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction: Applied Mathematics for Chemistry Majors

To succeed in physical chemistry courses, students need competence with a significant amount of mathematics, including ordinary and partial differential equations and linear operators. This can present a barrier to student success because many of these topics are not taught in the traditional prerequisite calculus sequence. Through a collaboration of the Departments of Chemistry and Mathematics, Colorado State University has developed and implemented a two-semester sequence of courses, Applied Mathematics for Chemists, aimed specifically at providing students with the mathematical tools necessary for success in physical chemistry. This report summarizes one of the invited papers to the ConfChem online conference on Mathematics in Undergraduate Chemistry Instruction, held from October 23 to November 27, 2017, and hosted by the ACS DivCHED Committee on Computers in Chemical Education (CCCE).
A Combined Experimental and Computational Study on the Reaction Dynamics of the 1-Propynyl (CH3CC)-Acetylene (HCCH) System and the Formation of Methyldiacetylene (CH3CCCCH).

We investigated the 1-propynyl (CH3CC; X2A1) plus acetylene/acetylene-d2 (HCCH/DCCD; X1Σg+) under single-collision conditions using the crossed molecular beams method. The reaction was found to produce C5H4 plus atomic hydrogen (H) via an indirect reaction mechanism with a reaction energy of −123 ± 18 kJ mol–1. Using the DCCD isotopologue, we confirmed that the hydrogen atom is lost from the acetylene reactant. Our computational analysis suggests the reaction proceeds by the barrierless addition of the 1-propynyl radical to acetylene, resulting in C5H5 intermediate(s) that dissociate preferentially to methyldiacetylene (CH3CCCCH; X1A1) via hydrogen atom emission with a computed reaction energy of −123 ± 4 kJ mol–1. The barrierless nature of this reaction scheme suggests the 1-propynyl radical may be a key intermediate in hydrocarbon chain growth in cold molecular clouds like TMC-1, where methyl-substituted (poly)acetylenes are known to exist.
Conditioning of myoblast secretome using mesenchymal stem/stromal cell spheroids improves bone repair.

Abstract Local muscle loss associated with open fractures remains an obstacle to functional recovery and bone healing. Muscle cells secrete bioactive myokines that elicit autocrine and paracrine effects and initiate signaling pathways for regenerating damaged muscle and bone. Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) are under investigation for the regeneration of both muscle and bone through their potent secretome. Compared to monodisperse cells, MSC spheroids exhibit a more complex secretome with heightened therapeutic potential. We hypothesized that the osteogenic potential of myokines would be enhanced when myoblasts were exposed to the MSC spheroid secretome. Conditioned media from MSC spheroids increased osteogenic response of MC3T3 pre-osteoblasts compared to myokines from L6 myoblasts alone. This effect was synergistically enhanced when conditioned media of MSC spheroids was serially delivered to myoblasts and then osteoprogenitor cells in vitro. We then delivered myoblast-stimulated conditioned media in the presence or absence of syngeneic rat bone marrow stromal cells (rBMSCs) from alginate hydrogels to a rat critical-sized segmental defect. We observed increased bone formation in defects treated with conditioned media compared to rBMSCs alone, while bone formation was greatest in defects treated with both conditioned media and rBMSCs over 12 weeks. This foundational study demonstrates a novel approach for capitalizing on the paracrine signaling of muscle cells to promote bone repair and provides additional evidence of the synergistic interaction between muscle and bone.
Reconceptualising Copyright: Adapting the Rules to Respect Freedom of Expression in the Digital Age

This Report examines the current framework of copyright rules from a freedom of expression perspective in order to determine how copyright should be reformed to best achieve its underlying purpose of promoting and protecting expression. Part I begins by providing an overview of the systems for protection of copyright and freedom of expression, and goes on to spell out the problems with the current system of copyright rules, which underlie the need for a reconceptualisation of those rules. There is a particular emphasis on the broad chasm between copyright law and the realities of the modern digital age, and the numerous ways in which copyright is failing to achieve its core objective of promoting the creation of cultural works and, in some cases, is actually obstructing it. Part II begins by illustrating the difficulty of analysing copyright using the traditional three-part test, and proposing a modified test for analysing copyright restrictions. This analytical framework is then applied to various copyright issues, leading to specific recommendations for reform regarding copyright’s scope, duration, exceptions and sanctions.
A budget impact model for biosimilar myeloid growth factors (MGFs) within the Oncology Care Model (OCM): An oncology group practice perspective.

108Background: Value-based programs, such as the OCM, provide incentives for healthcare providers to lower costs and improve patient outcomes. Use of biosimilar vs. reference MGFs for febrile neutr...
Optimal Consumption and Equilibrium Prices with Portfolio Cone Constraints and Stochastic Labor Income

This paper examines the individual's consumption and investment problem when labor income follows a general bounded process and the dollar amounts invested in the risky assets are constrained to take values in a given nonempty, closed, convex cone. Short sale constraints, as well as incomplete markets, can be modeled as special cases of this setting. Existence of optimal policies is established using martingale and duality techniques under fairly general assumptions on the security price coefficients and the individual's utility function. This result is obtained by reformulating the individual's dynamic optimization problem as a dual static problem over a space of martingales. An explicit characterization of equilibrium risk premia in the presence of portfolio constraints is also provided. In the unconstrained case, this characterization reduces to Consumption-based Capital Asset Pricing Model.
Mechanisms of negative membrane curvature sensing and generation by ESCRT III subunit Snf7.

Certain proteins have the propensity to bind to negatively curved membranes and generate negative membrane curvature. The mechanism of action of these proteins is much less studied and understood than those that sense and generate positive curvature. In this work, we use implicit membrane modeling to explore the mechanism of an important negative curvature sensing and generating protein: the main ESCRT III subunit Snf7. We find that Snf7 monomers alone can sense negative curvature and that curvature sensitivity increases for dimers and trimers. We have observed spontaneous bending of Snf7 oligomers into circular structures with preferred radius of ~20 nm. The preferred curvature of Snf7 filaments is further confirmed by the simulations of preformed spirals on a cylindrical membrane surface. Snf7 filaments cannot bind with the same interface to flat and curved membranes. We find that even when a filament has the preferred radius, it is always less stable on the flat membrane surface than on the interior cylindrical membrane surface. This provides an additional energy for membrane bending which has not been considered in the spiral spring model. Furthermore, the rings on the cylindrical spirals are bridged together by helix 4 and hence are extra stabilized compared to the spirals on the flat membrane surface.
Learning Stochastic Closures Using Ensemble Kalman Inversion

Although the governing equations of many systems, when derived from first principles, may be viewed as known, it is often too expensive to numerically simulate all the interactions within the first principles description. Therefore researchers often seek simpler descriptions that describe complex phenomena without numerically resolving all the interacting components. Stochastic differential equations (SDEs) arise naturally as models in this context. The growth in data acquisition provides an opportunity for the systematic derivation of SDE models in many disciplines. However, inconsistencies between SDEs and real data at small time scales often cause problems, when standard statistical methodology is applied to parameter estimation. The incompatibility between SDEs and real data can be addressed by deriving sufficient statistics from the time-series data and learning parameters of SDEs based on these. Following this approach, we formulate the fitting of SDEs to sufficient statistics from real data as an inverse problem and demonstrate that this inverse problem can be solved by using ensemble Kalman inversion (EKI). Furthermore, we create a framework for non-parametric learning of drift and diffusion terms by introducing hierarchical, refineable parameterizations of unknown functions, using Gaussian process regression. We demonstrate the proposed methodology for the fitting of SDE models, first in a simulation study with a noisy Lorenz 63 model, and then in other applications, including dimension reduction starting from various deterministic chaotic systems arising in the atmospheric sciences, large-scale pattern modeling in climate dynamics, and simplified models for key observables arising in molecular dynamics. The results confirm that the proposed methodology provides a robust and systematic approach to fitting SDE models to real data.
Analytical Techniques for Taking into Account Several Aspects of a Designed Systems: Case Study of Computation-Communication Tradeoff

Once we have an adequate description of the users’ preferences and of the corresponding application domain, we need to come up with a system design which is the most appropriate for this setting. One of the challenges in searching for such a design is that we need to take into account many different aspects of the resulting system. In many practical situations, for each aspect, we have well-defined optimal design strategies, but there are no analytical techniques for taking all aspects into account. In this chapter, we show how several aspects can be taken into account on the example of a tradeoff between computation and communication needs.
Airborne lead (Pb) from abandoned mine waste in northeastern Oklahoma, USA

Active and abandoned mines pose serious health threats to humans, aquatic, and terrestrial biota. Northeastern Oklahoma, home to a number of Native American Tribes, is part of the well-known Tri-State Mining District. More than 100 years of mining production in this area has left numerous, large chat piles in the surrounding environment. Despite numerous studies and efforts on the restoration of metal contamination in this area, no studies have attempted to distinguish the contributions of different sources, particularly from the atmospheric deposition, of metals to the aquatic environment. Here, we analyzed the atmospheric deposition of Pb from Picher, a town surrounded by chat piles, and Tulsa, a primary metropolitan area in northeastern Oklahoma, from 2010 to 2016. We found that chat piles in Picher contain ~20% and 6% of fine particles that are subjective to windborne transport and human inhalation, respectively, and these fine particles contain disproportionally high concentrations of Pb. Despite the absence of industrial and human activities, airborne Pb in Picher is 2-5 times higher than that of Tulsa. A conservative estimate showed that airborne Pb may contribute up to 10% of annual Pb mass flux to a lake 18 km away from the chat piles in Picher and probably a much higher contribution for soil and water located adjacent to Picher. Despite known limitations, our study represents the first attempt to evaluate the significance of Pb-laden airborne particulate matter from a large-scale abandoned mining area where the humans are particularly vulnerable to metal exposure.
Exploring the Free-Energy Landscape and Thermodynamics of Protein-Protein Association.

We report the free-energy landscape and thermodynamics of the protein-protein association responsible for the drug-induced multimerization of HIV-1 integrase (IN). Allosteric HIV-1 integrase inhibitors promote aberrant IN multimerization by bridging IN-IN intermolecular interactions. However, the thermodynamic driving forces and kinetics of the multimerization remain largely unknown. Here, we explore the early steps in the IN multimerization by using umbrella sampling and unbiased molecular dynamics simulations in explicit solvent. In direct simulations, the two initially separated dimers spontaneously associate to form near-native complexes that resemble the crystal structure of the aberrant tetramer. Most strikingly, the effective interaction of the protein-protein association is very short-ranged: the two dimers associate rapidly within tens of nanoseconds when their binding surfaces are separated by d ≤ 4.3 A (less than two water diameters). Beyond this distance, the oligomerization kinetics appears to be diffusion controlled with a much longer association time. The free-energy profile also captured the crucial role of allosteric IN inhibitors in promoting multimerization and explained why several C-terminal domain mutations are remarkably resistant to the drug-induced multimerization. The results also show that at small separation, the protein-protein binding process contains two consecutive phases with distinct thermodynamic signatures. First, interprotein water molecules are expelled to the bulk, resulting in a small increase in entropy, as the solvent entropy gain from the water release is nearly cancelled by the loss of side-chain entropies as the two proteins approach each other. At shorter distances, the two dry binding surfaces adapt to each other to optimize their interaction energy at the expense of further protein configurational entropy loss. Although the binding interfaces feature clusters of hydrophobic residues, overall, the protein-protein association in this system is driven by enthalpy and opposed by entropy.
Brief of Amici Curiae Fourth Amendment Scholars in Support of Petitioner, Torres v. Madrid, 19-292

Amici curiae are criminal procedure professors and scholars who teach, study, and write about the Fourth Amendment. Amici believe this case presents fundamental issues concerning the scope of a "seizure" under the Fourth Amendment. Amici are of the view that a Fourth Amendment "seizure" has occurred when a suspect is intentionally shot by law enforcement yet evades arrest.
Electronic Health Records-Based Cardio-Oncology Registry for Care Gap Identification and Pragmatic Research: Procedure and Observational Study.

Background: Professional society guidelines are emerging for cardiovascular care in cancer patients. However, it is not yet clear how effectively the cancer survivor population is screened and treated for cardiomyopathy in contemporary clinical practice. As electronic health records (EHRs) are now widely used in clinical practice, we tested the hypothesis that an EHR-based cardio-oncology registry can address these questions. Objective: The aim of this study was to develop an EHR-based pragmatic cardio-oncology registry and, as proof of principle, to investigate care gaps in the cardiovascular care of cancer patients. Methods: We generated a programmatically deidentified, real-time EHR-based cardio-oncology registry from all patients in our institutional Cancer Population Registry (N=8275, 2011-2017). We investigated: (1) left ventricular ejection fraction (LVEF) assessment before and after treatment with potentially cardiotoxic agents; and (2) guideline-directed medical therapy (GDMT) for left ventricular dysfunction (LVD), defined as LVEF<50%, and symptomatic heart failure with reduced LVEF (HFrEF), defined as LVEF<50% and Problem List documentation of systolic congestive heart failure or dilated cardiomyopathy. Results: Rapid development of an EHR-based cardio-oncology registry was feasible. Identification of tests and outcomes was similar using the EHR-based cardio-oncology registry and manual chart abstraction (100% sensitivity and 83% specificity for LVD). LVEF was documented prior to initiation of cancer therapy in 19.8% of patients. Prevalence of postchemotherapy LVD and HFrEF was relatively low (9.4% and 2.5%, respectively). Among patients with postchemotherapy LVD or HFrEF, those referred to cardiology had a significantly higher prescription rate of a GDMT. Conclusions: EHR data can efficiently populate a real-time, pragmatic cardio-oncology registry as a byproduct of clinical care for health care delivery investigations.