cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Multi-responsive polypeptide hydrogels derived from N-carboxyanhydride terpolymerizations for delivery of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs

A polypeptide-based hydrogel system, when prepared from a diblock polymer with a ternary copolypeptide as one block, exhibited thermo-, mechano- and enzyme-responsive properties, which enabled the encapsulation of naproxen (Npx) during the sol-gel transition and its release in the gel state. Statistical terpolymerizations of l-alanine (Ala), glycine (Gly) and l-isoleucine (Ile) NCAs at a 1 : 1 : 1 feed ratio initiated by monomethoxy monoamino-terminated poly(ethylene glycol) afforded a series of methoxy poly(ethylene glycol)-block-poly(l-alanine-co-glycine-co-l-isoleucine) (mPEG-b-P(A-G-I)) block polymers. β-Sheets were the dominant secondary structures within the polypeptide segments, which facilitated a heat-induced sol-to-gel transition, resulting from the supramolecular assembly of β-sheets into nanofibrils. Deconstruction of the three-dimensional networks by mechanical force (sonication) triggered the reverse gel-to-sol transition. Certain enzymes could accelerate the breakdown of the hydrogel, as determined by in vitro gel weight loss profiles. The hydrogels were able to encapsulate and release Npx over 6 days, demonstrating the potential application of these polypeptide hydrogels as an injectable local delivery system for small molecule drugs.
Computer science for all in Western New York: building a community of practice

This presentation describes an innovative approach to help secondary school teachers enhance their computer science (CS) knowledge through the "Computer Science for All in Western New York" (CSA-WNY) project. Since 2012, the presenters are four time recipients of annual funding from Google Inc. from the CS4HS (Computer Science for High Schools) program to offer professional development (PD) workshops presenting CS topics and related tools. The goal of the CSA-WNY project is to promote CS education in every secondary school of the WNY area and to build a community of practice of K-12 computer science teachers. CSA-WNY extends partnerships with the Buffalo Public Schools (BPS), SUNY at Buffalo, the WNY STEM Hub, Exploring Computer Science (ECS) and Code.org.
A Droplet Digital PCR Method for Severe Combined Immunodeficiency Newborn Screening

Severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) benefits from early intervention via hematopoietic cell transplantation to reverse T-cell lymphopenia (TCL). Newborn screening (NBS) programs use T-cell receptor excision circle (TREC) levels to detect SCID. Real-time quantitative PCR is often performed to quantify TRECs in dried blood spots (DBSs) for NBS. Yet, real-time quantitative PCR has inefficiencies necessitating normalization, repeat analyses, or standard curves. To address these issues, we developed a multiplex, droplet digital PCR (ddPCR) method for measuring absolute TREC amounts in one DBS punch. TREC and RPP30 levels were simultaneously measured with a Bio-Rad AutoDG and QX200 ddPCR system. DBSs from 610 presumed-normal, 29 lymphocyte-profiled, and 10 clinically diagnosed infants (1 X-linked SCID, 1 RAG1 Omenn syndrome, and other conditions) were tested. Control infants showed 14 to 474 TREC copies/μL blood. SCID infants, and other TCL conditions, had ≤15 TREC copies/μL. The ddPCR lower limit of quantitation was 14 TREC copies/μL, and the limit of detection was 4 TREC copies/μL. Intra-assay and interassay imprecision was
Provitamin A-biofortified maize consumption increases serum xanthophylls and 13C-natural abundance of retinol in Zambian children.

Plants that undergo C4 photosynthesis, such as maize, are enriched in the stable isotope of carbon (13C) compared with other dietary plants and foods. Consumption of maize that has been biofortifie...
Two Roads Diverged in a Logic Road: Cultural Entrenchment versus Strategic Search Post-Crisis

The institutional logics perspective has received much attention in the management field. One of the clear struggles with institutional theory and the logics perspective in particular is how to dea...
Rhabdomyolysis and fluctuating asymptomatic hyperCKemia associated with CACNA1S variant

Background and purpose CACNA1S encodes Cav 1.1, a voltage sensor for muscle excitation-contraction coupling, which activates the ryanodine receptor 1 (RYR1) leading to calcium release from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. CACNA1S mutations cause hypokalemic periodic paralysis, malignant hyperthermia and congenital myopathy. RYR1 mutations result in congenital myopathy, malignant hyperthermia and rhabdomyolysis. Methods The aim was to describe a novel phenotype associated with a CACNA1S variant at a site previously linked to hypokalemic periodic paralysis. Results The patient presented with fluctuating asymptomatic creatine kinase elevation after an episode of rhabdomyolysis but has no history of periodic paralysis. His muscle biopsy showed core-like structures occurring mainly in type 2 fibers. He carries a novel Cav 1.1 variant (p.Arg528Leu) affecting a highly conserved amino acid. Different mutations at the same location cause hypokalemic periodic paralysis. Conclusion This case underscores the similarity between the phenotypes caused by mutations in two functionally linked proteins, RYR1 and Cav 1.1.
Present Status and Future Directions of the Treatment of Knee Ligament Injuries

At the present time, we have made tremendous strides in our understanding of the biomechanics and healing processes involved in the treatment of knee ligament injuries. However, there is much confusion in the literature as to how we should treat various ligament tears or combinations of these tears, which has led to widely different ideas as to when one should treat severe ligament sprains conservatively or surgically. Likewise, many different operative procedures are advocated including surgical repair, autograft reconstructions, allograft reconstructions, grafts with ligament augmentation devices, or prosthetic replacement of torn ligaments. Postoperative rehabilitation regimens vary widely as to how aggressive these programs should be and as to when patients can return to vigorous sports or work activities.
Analysis of ChIP-Seq and RNA-Seq Data with BioWardrobe

The massive amount of information produced by ChIP-Seq, RNA-Seq, and other next-generation sequencing-based methods requires computational data analysis. However, biologists performing these experiments often lack training in bioinformatics. BioWardrobe aims to bridge this gap by providing a convenient user interface and by automating routine data-processing steps. This protocol details the use of BioWardrobe for identifying and visualizing ChIP-Seq peaks, calculating RPKMs, performing differential binding or gene expression analysis, and creating plots and heat maps. We specifically describe how to use BioWardrobe's quality control measures for troubleshooting NGS-based experiments.
Archaeological Remote Sensing in Jordan’s Faynan Copper Mining District with Hyperspectral Imagery

Hyperspectral (multiple, narrow band) satellite imaging provides a useful discovery and analytical tool for archaeologists. The Hyperion instrument, flying on the Earth Observer 1 (EO-1) satellite, was launched from Vandenberg Air Force Base on November 21, 2000. Hyperion provides 242 (196 calibrated) narrow bands in the visible (VIS) to shortwave infrared range (SWIR), enabling detailed archaeological and geological analyses. We analyzed a Hyperion image swath targeted on Khirbat en-Nahas (KEN), an ancient copper smelting site along the Wadi al-Ghuwayb (WAG) in Jordan’s Faynan district, where extensive ore processing occurred from the third millennium B.C.E. to industrial scale production over several centuries in the early first millennium B.C.E. (Iron Age) and continued until Medieval Islamic times. We use a combination of Principal Components Analysis (PCA), similarity matrices, and Spectral Mixture Analysis (SMA) to locate additional ore processing sites and discern depositional differences that may help illuminate issues related to the organization of production at KEN. Extensive field surveys in the research area provide a unique opportunity to “ground truth” the results of the hyperspectral research. Our results show considerable promise for future work with Hyperion
KdV and mKdV Equations of Higher-orders

It is well known that the third order KdV equation is the generic model for studying weakly nonlinear waves. The equation models surface waves with small amplitude and long wavelength on shallow water. The KdV equation involves a balance between weak nonlinearity and linear dispersion. The KdV equation is completely integrable and the collision between solitary waves is elastic, which means that the solitons retain original identity after collision.
Grating lobe prediction and deconvolution for synthetic aperture sonar

Synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) arrays are typically undersampled in the sense that the array element spacing is much larger than the acoustic wavelength. Grating lobes are suppressed by making a judicious choice of beampattern nulls for the transmit and receive elements, such as a 3:2 ratio for the length of the transmit and receive elements. However, grating lobe artifacts can appear in SAS imagery when the target strength difference between a highly reflective object and the surrounding seabed exceeds the sidelobe level of the synthetic array. We present a theoretical model of the SAS point scattering function (PSF) that takes into account shaded element beampatterns for a multichannel SAS array. The PSF model is validated using experimental data from AquaPix, a wideband 300 kHz interferometric SAS. In practice, observed SAS images are described by the convolution of the seabed reflectivity with the PSF. Therefore, knowledge of the PSF facilitates the removal of grating lobe artifacts using deconvolution techniques such as the Richardson-Lucy algorithm. Conventional and deconvolved SAS images of a highly reflective target are presented to demonstrate the effectiveness of deconvolution based on the modeled PSF.
Population, immigration, and air quality in the USA: a spatial panel study

The role of population size in environmental degradation is a source of both political and academic debate, with the role of immigrant population being particularly salient in developed countries such as the USA. We test the relationship between two population specifications and air quality in the US context, using spatial panel analysis of the Environmental Protection Agency’s Air Quality Index, population, and other explanatory variables for contiguous US counties from 2007 to 2014. We find that both population in general and immigrant population in particular are associated with better, rather than worse air quality. These results are in line with political economy theories arguing that population is not the root cause of environmental problems and coincide with empirical findings of ecologically unequal exchange between core and peripheral countries.
Laurence Alfred Mound and his contributions to our knowledge of the Thysanoptera

Laurence Alfred Mound became interested in taxonomy after two postgraduate periods at the British Museum of Natural History (now the Natural History Museum) in London where he discovered biological diversity and the endless variety of living things. While working in Nigeria and the Sudan, and studying variation in whitefly populations, he gained an appreciation for the great differences within species in behavior and morphology under varying environmental conditions. He was appointed to the British Museum of Natural History in 1964 where he worked on the taxonomy of thrips, whiteflies, and aphids until he retired as Keeper of Entomology in 1992. He now lives in Canberra, Australia, serving as an Honorary Research Fellow, CSIRO Ecosystem Sciences at the Black Mountain Campus. Driving questions motivate him and provide insight into his thinking of the natural world: Why are there so many species of insects, yet so few species of thrips? Why so many at one place but so few at another? Do environmental and host plant factors drive the astonishing levels of morphological variation seen in single species? If so why? Why do so few thrips vector plant viruses, but why are those few so successful? Why are so many thrips associated with Acacia trees in Australia but so few on other plants? To address these questions and as part of his ongoing efforts to document the biodiversity of thrips, Laurence Mound has established 90 new Thysanoptera genera, and described 641 new species of thrips. These taxonomic designations are new hypotheses inviting scrutiny and study. At the time this document was written Laurence’s research articles had been cited almost 1,300 times. Here we review Laurence Mound’s career to this point, and we discuss the quality and quantity of his remarkable accomplishments in taxonomy, as well as highlighting his distinctive personal characteristics.
Motion around the out-of-plane equilibrium points in the photogravitational Copenhagen elliptic restricted three-body problem with oblateness

This paper studies the motion of an infinitesimal mass near the out-of-plane equilibrium points (OEPs) in the elliptic restricted three-body problem (ER3BP) in the case of two equally heavy bodies (Copenhagen problem) where one of the two primaries is a radiation source and the other an oblate spheroid. We found, as in the photogravitational circular restricted three body problem, that the equations of motion of the three dimensional photogravitational ER3BP allow the existence of OEPs if the radiation parameter has negative values. There are two out of plane equilibria that lie in the (ξ, ζ) plane in symmetrical positions with respect to the (ξ, η) plane. The positions of the OEPs are affected by the parameters involved in the systems' dynamics. In particular, the positions change with increase in the radiation pressure, oblateness, eccentricity and semi-major axis of the orbits. As an application, the positions and linear stability of the problem are investigated numerically for the binary system B1534+12. The OEPs are found unstable.
Utilizing Community Cultural Wealth to Learn with Diverse Language Communities.

How to prepare teachers to work with culturally and linguistically diverse students and families is an important aspect of teacher education as classrooms continue to diversify. Community-based app...
An Exploratory Trial to Estimate the Proportion of Patients with Tumor Cell Contaminated, Flow Positive Leukapheresis Products Collected with and without Bortezomib As in-Vivo Purging Prior to Autologous Stem Cell Harvest for Multiple Myeloma

Introduction Autologous stem cell transplant (ASCT) is the standard of care for newly diagnosed, transplant-eligible patients with multiple myeloma (MM). Myeloma cell contamination of the graft may lead to poor disease free survival. While ex-vivo purging of the harvested product has not been shown to improve progression-free survival (PFS), in-vivo purging of autologous stem cell grafts is an unexplored intervention in this population. We assessed if in-vivo purging using bortezomib prior to stem cell harvest affected the graft contamination rate in MM patients by using multiparametric flow cytometry (MPFC) for minimal residual disease (MRD) detection in the stem cell product. Methods 101 patients with MM treated with novel therapy prior to ASCT were randomly assigned to control or treatment arms. The control group underwent standard of care (SOC) stem cell collection with G-CSF on days -4 through -1, stem cell collection on day 0 and plerixafor if needed. The treatment group received bortezomib injections as a means of in-vivo purging on days -11 and -8, followed by SOC stem cell harvest. MPFC was used to measure MRD in the harvested products. International Myeloma Working Group response criteria was used to determine status at ASCT. Results 101 patients with MM were included. There were 51 patients in the control arm and 50 patients in the treatment arm. Among the transplanted patients, 24 (24%) [11 (22%) in the control and 13 (26%) in the treatment arm (p=0.6)] had neoplastic myeloma cells in the harvested products detected by MPFC (MRD+). There were 6 (12%) MRD+ cases in patients with CR+VGPR (n=53) and 18 cases (36%) with PR or worse status (n=48) showing correlation between disease status at transplantation and contamination rate (p=0.002). The mean number of CD34+ stem cells collected and time to engraftment did not significantly differ between the two groups. Conclusion In the era of novel drug therapy, contamination of harvest product did not occur in most patients (76% were MRD- by MPFC) regardless of pretreatment with bortezomib. In-vivo purging with bortezomib did not significantly affect the contamination rates compared to the SOC. There was a significant difference in contamination rates correlating with increased severity of disease status at time of transplant. Alternative therapies like monoclonal antibodies to minimize the presence of MRD in this population may be explored in future trials.
Extra-mitochondrial mouse frataxin and its implications for mouse models of Friedreich’s ataxia

Mature frataxin is essential for the assembly of iron-sulfur cluster proteins including a number of mitochondrial enzymes. Reduced levels of mature frataxin (81-20) in human subjects caused by the genetic disease Friedreich's ataxia results in decreased mitochondrial function, neurodegeneration, and cardiomyopathy. Numerous studies of mitochondrial dysfunction have been conducted using mouse models of frataxin deficiency. However, mouse frataxin that is reduced in these models, is assumed to be mature frataxin (78-207) by analogy with human mature frataxin (81-210). Using immunoaffinity purification coupled with liquid chromatography-high resolution tandem mass spectrometry, we have discovered that mature frataxin in mouse heart (77%), brain (86%), and liver (47%) is predominantly a 129-amino acid truncated mature frataxin (79-207) in which the N-terminal lysine residue has been lost. Mature mouse frataxin (78-207) only contributes 7-15% to the total frataxin protein present in mouse tissues. We have also found that truncated mature frataxin (79-207) is present primarily in the cytosol of mouse liver; whereas, frataxin (78-207) is primarily present in the mitochondria. These findings, which provide support for the role of extra-mitochondrial frataxin in the etiology of Friedreich's ataxia, also have important implications for studies of mitochondrial dysfunction conducted in mouse models of frataxin deficiency.
Bridge Deck Replacement of Posttensioned Concrete Box-Girder Bridges

Abstract This paper studies the feasibility of replacing damaged deck of posttensioned concrete box-girder bridges without the use of falsework to support the superstructure span. Parameters of the...
Crisis is a Gateway to Censored Information: The Case of Coronavirus in China

Crisis and anxiety motivate people to track news closely. We examine the consequences of this increased motivation in authoritarian regimes that normally exert significant control over access to media. Using the case of the COVID-19 outbreak in China, we show that crisis spurs censorship circumvention to access international news and political content on websites blocked in China. Once individuals have circumvented censorship, they not only receive more information about the crisis itself, but the crisis becomes a gateway to unrelated information that the regime has long censored. Through this mechanism, crisis both increases attention to information relevant to individuals’ cur- rent circumstances and incidentally increases access to information that the regime considers sensitive.
Comparison of ASCA and ROSAT Cluster Temperatures: A2256, A3558, and AWM 7

We address the consistency between ASCA and ROSAT spatially resolved cluster temperature measurements, which is of significant and immediate interest given the recent ASCA reports of temperature gradients in several hot clusters. We reanalyze ROSAT PSPC data on A2256 (originally analyzed by Briel & Henry) using the newer calibration and a technique less sensitive to the calibration uncertainties. We find a temperature decline with radius in good agreement with that of ASCA, although with much larger errors than those of ASCA. We also present ASCA temperature maps and radial profiles of two cooler clusters, A3558 and AWM 7. These are compared to the ROSAT results of Bardelli et al. and Neumann & Bohringer. In A3558, our analysis detects an asymmetric temperature pattern and a slight radial temperature decline at r ~ 0.5 h-1 Mpc, in addition to the spectral complexity of the cD galaxy region. We do not detect any significant spatial temperature variations in AWM 7, except around the cD galaxy, in agreement with the earlier ASCA analysis of this cluster. Radial temperature profiles of these two clusters are in a qualitative agreement with those from ROSAT. However, while ASCA average temperatures (5.5 and 3.9 keV, respectively) agree with those from other high-energy instruments (Ginga and EXOSAT for A3558 and Einstein MPC and EXOSAT for AWM 7), ROSAT temperatures are lower by factors of 1.7 and 1.25, respectively. We find that including realistic estimates of the current ROSAT systematic uncertainties enlarges the temperature confidence intervals so that ROSAT measurements are consistent with others for these two clusters as well. Because of the limited energy coverage of ROSAT PSPC, its results for the hotter clusters are highly sensitive to calibration uncertainties. We conclude that within the present calibration accuracy, there is no disagreement between ASCA and other instruments. This adds confidence to the ASCA results on the hotter clusters which can at present be studied with precision only with this instrument. On the scientific side, a ROSAT temperature underestimate for A3558 may be responsible for the anomalously high gas to total mass fraction found by Bardelli et al. Our spatially resolved temperature measurement may indicate a recent or ongoing subcluster merger in this core member of the Shapley supercluster.
Nucleic Acid-Based Sensing Techniques for Diagnostics and Surveillance of Influenza

Influenza virus poses a threat to global health by causing seasonal outbreaks as well as three pandemics in the 20th century. In humans, disease is primarily caused by influenza A and B viruses, while influenza C virus causes mild disease mostly in children. Influenza D is an emerging virus found in cattle and pigs. To mitigate the morbidity and mortality associated with influenza, rapid and accurate diagnostic tests need to be deployed. However, the high genetic diversity displayed by influenza viruses presents a challenge to the development of a robust diagnostic test. Nucleic acid-based tests are more accurate than rapid antigen tests for influenza and are therefore better candidates to be used in both diagnostic and surveillance applications. Here, we review various nucleic acid-based techniques that have been applied towards the detection of influenza viruses in order to evaluate their utility as both diagnostic and surveillance tools. We discuss both traditional as well as novel methods to detect influenza viruses by covering techniques that require nucleic acid amplification or direct detection of viral RNA as well as comparing advantages and limitations for each method. There has been substantial progress in the development of nucleic acid-based sensing techniques for the detection of influenza virus. However, there is still an urgent need for a rapid and reliable influenza diagnostic test that can be used at point-of-care in order to enhance responsiveness to both seasonal and pandemic influenza outbreaks.
Impact of Tumor Side on Clinical Outcomes in Stage II and III Colon Cancer With Known Microsatellite Instability Status.

Background Tumor sidedness as a prognostic factor in advanced stage colon cancer (CC) is well established. The impact of tumor sidedness on the clinical outcomes of stage II and III CC has not been well studied. Methods The National Cancer Database (NCDB) was utilized to identify patients with pathological stage II and III primary adenocarcinoma of the colon from 2010 to 2015 using ICD-O-3 morphology and topography codes: 8140-47, 8210-11, 8220-21, 8260-63, 8480-81, 8490 and C18.0, 18.2,18.3, 18.5,18.6, 18.7. Univariate (UVA) and multivariable (MVA) survival analyses and Kaplan-Meier Curves with Log-rank test were utilized to compare overall survival (OS) based on tumor location and treatment received. Results A total of 35,071 patients with stage II (n = 17,629) and III (n = 17,442) CC were identified. 51.3% female; 81.5% Caucasian; median age 66 (range, 18-90). Majority of stage II and III tumors were right sided, 61.2% (n = 10,794) and 56.0% (n = 9,763). Microsatellite instability high (MSI-H) was more common in stage II compared to III, 23.3% (n = 4,115) vs 18.2% (n = 3,171) (p < 0.0001). In stage II MSI-H CC right was more common than left, 78.3% (n = 3223) vs 21.7% (n = 892). There was no significant difference in survival between stage II MSI-H left vs right (5-year OS 76.2 vs 74.7%, p = 0.1578). Stage II MSS CC right was more common than left, 56.0% (n = 7571) vs 44.0% (n = 5943), and survival was better in the left vs right (5-year OS 73.2 vs 70.8%, p = 0.0029). Stage III MSI-H CC was more common in the right than in the left, 75.6% (n = 2,397) vs 24.4% (n = 774) and survival was better in the left (5-year OS 62.5 vs 56.5%, p = 0.0026). Stage III MSS CC was more common in the right than in the left, 51.6% (n = 7,366) vs 48.4% (n = 6,905), and survival was better in the left vs right (5-year OS 67.0 vs 54.4%, p < 0.001). Conclusion Survival was better in left sided tumors compared to right in stage II MSS, stage III MSS, and stage III MSI-H CC.
Feasibility and Acceptability of a Tailored Infant Safe Sleep Coaching Intervention for African American Families.

Background: Approximately 3600 infants die suddenly and unexpectedly annually in the United States. Research suggests limitations of current behavioral interventions to reduce the risk for sleep-related deaths among African American families living in under-resourced neighborhoods. Guided by the theory of planned behavior and the socio-ecological model, the My Baby’s Sleep (MBS) intervention intends to reduce the risk for sleep-related infant deaths while addressing complex needs of African American families living in under-resourced neighborhoods. Objective: To assess feasibility and acceptability of MBS, a 7-month intervention that includes four home visits and multiple check-ins via phone and text message. Methods: This was a single-arm feasibility and acceptability study with quantitative and qualitive measures. African American families were recruited from community agencies that served an under-resourced metropolitan area. Results: Eight families (eight mothers, nine co-caregivers) completed the intervention. Families reported high acceptability of MBS content, process, and format, as evidenced by qualitative data and mean evaluation scores. Conclusion: MBS is feasible and acceptable among African American families living in under-resourced neighborhoods. These results suggest further investigation of MBS intervention efficacy in a large-scale randomized controlled trial.
Survey of Transient Execution Attacks and Their Mitigations

Transient execution attacks, also known as speculative execution attacks, have drawn much interest in the last few years as they can cause critical data leakage. Since the first disclosure of Spectre and Meltdown attacks in January 2018, a number of new transient execution attack types have been demonstrated targeting different processors. A transient execution attack consists of two main components: transient execution itself and a covert channel that is used to actually exfiltrate the information.Transient execution is a result of the fundamental features of modern processors that are designed to boost performance and efficiency, while covert channels are unintended information leakage channels that result from temporal and spatial sharing of the micro-architectural components. Given the severity of the transient execution attacks, they have motivated computer architects in both industry and academia to rethink the design of the processors and to propose hardware defenses. To help understand the transient execution attacks, this survey summarizes the phases of the attacks and the security boundaries across which the information is leaked in different attacks.This survey further analyzes the causes of transient execution as well as the different types of covert channels and presents a taxonomy of the attacks based on the causes and types. This survey in addition presents metrics for comparing different aspects of the transient execution attacks and uses them to evaluate the feasibility of the different attacks. This survey especially considers both existing attacks and potential new attacks suggested by our analysis. This survey finishes by discussing different mitigations that have so far been proposed at the micro-architecture level and discusses their benefits and limitations.
Total Fitness and Prevention of Accidents

(1967). Total Fitness and Prevention of Accidents. Journal of Health, Physical Education, Recreation: Vol. 38, No. 3, pp. 32-37.
Book Review: William Stringfellow: Essential Writings

William Stringfellow: Essential Writings. Selected with an Introduction by Bill Wylie-Kellermann. Modem Spiritual Masters Series. Maryknoll, N.Y.: Orbis Books, 2013. 256 pp. $22.00 (paper).Surprisingly little has been published about William Stringfeilow since he died in 1985, despite his seminal influence on such thinkers and activists as Walter Wink, Jim Wallis, and Elizabeth McAlister. Bill Wylie-Kellermann, a Methodist pastor and activist who serves an Episcopal parish in Detroit, has offered arguably the best introduction to date to the life and work of the radical Episcopal lawyer and lay theologian who articulated a biblical theology of the powers and served many of his generation as a prophetic voice against the ubiquitous forces of domination afflicting church, society, and politics. Wylie-Kellermann, who edited a longer Stringfeilow anthology two decades ago, more recently helped direct the project to reprint the works of his friend and mentor through Wipf and Stock.The introduction briefly sketches Stringfeilow s life, setting up the judiciously selected primary text excerpts to follow. Raised in New England by working class parents, Stringfeilow studied debate at Rhodes College and became a leader in ecumenical student Christian work. After earning a Harvard law degree, he spumed more lucrative prospects to practice street law in East Harlem, where he confronted the principalities of racism and poverty head on. During Karl Barths U.S. visit in 1962, the young attorney stunned the Swiss theologian and the audience at a panel discussion with his penetrating questions on the vocation of the churches amid the contemporary American political scene. A cradle Episcopalian, Stringfeilow immersed himself, often notoriously, in controversies that roiled the denomination in the 1960s and 70s: he defended his friend Bishop James Pike when brought up on heresy charges, and advised the first women ordained to holy orders. Racked by health problems and desiring to live a more monastic existence, in 1967 he moved with his partner, the poet Anthony Towne, to Block Island, Rhode Island, where he became a gadfly to local politicians. Stringfeilow and Towne sheltered the Jesuit peace activist Daniel Berrigan, who was pursued by the FBI for his role in the 1968 draft-records-buming protest in Catonsville, Maryland. Berrigan and Stringfeilow piloted an "underground seminary" to empower a radical discipleship of resistance and of the rehumanization of those on the margins. Such commitments shaped Stringfellows most systematic and influential treatise in moral theology, An Ethic for Christians and Other Aliens in a Strange Land (1974). He performed a public exorcism of the Nixon administration after the Presidents second inauguration, and his final book was a scathing critique of the ersatz bourgeois spirituality of the Reagan years. …
Non-autoimmune hemolytic anemia with clostridium ramosum bacteremia.

Clostridium Ramosum is an intestinal anaerobe first isolated from a patient with pulmonary gangrene and appendicitis by Veilon and Zuber in 1898.1 It is usually present in normal fecal flora of man but has been found in association with osteomyelitis, liver abscess, mastoiditis, otitis, cerebellar and lung abscesses.2,3,4,5 This is the first case report of hemolytic anemia caused by Clostridium Ramosum in an elderly immunocompromised patient.
2009 American Head and Neck Society presidential address: going global, reaching out.

The presidential year is a time for reflection on our purpose as an organization and consideration of where we should place our efforts for the future. People are telic, they exist for a purpose and spend a great deal of time and energy finding that purpose and pursuing it. As a society of health care providers engaged in caring for people with the devastating effects of cancer of the mouth, throat, neck, and skull base, we share many personal purposes. This results in common goals that the American Head and Neck Society (AHNS) should attempt to reach together as an organization. The amount of time and energy each of us dedicates to AHNS will be directly related to how much commonality we feel in these shared purposes, how passionate we are to pursue them, and how well the Society functions in addressing them.
In Praise of the Gram Matrix

We use the Gram matrix to prove that the largest number of points in R d such that the distance between all pairs is an odd integer (the square root of an odd integer) is ≤ d + 2 and we characterize all dimensions d for which the upper bound is attained. We also use the Gram matrix to obtain an upper bound for the smallest angle determined by sets of n lines through the origin in R d .
Transfers, training and inscriptions: The production of modern market citizens in Malaysia

Purpose – The purpose of this paper is to provide an alternative understanding of knowledge transfers in developing contexts by drawing on recent deconstructions of the development sciences in anthropology and postcolonial studies to analyze transfers of management knowledge in Malaysia. Contrary to most mainstream research that conceives of transfers as a literal or objective process of skills deployment and acquisition, it refers attention to the modernist assumptions, concepts and practices of knowledge/power that are attached to knowledge transfers.Design/methodology/approach – The study is based on primary and secondary data from two electronics multinational and statutory agencies in Malaysia. Primary data were collected via interviews with training officials and managers; observations were based on training and training‐related events like orientation. Secondary data include multinational and statutory agency literature, quality control circle reports and a corporate orientation video. Data analysi...
The DSpace open source digital asset management system: challenges and opportunities

Last year at the ECDL 2004 conference, we reported some initial progress and experiences developing DSpace as an open source community-driven project [8], particularly as seen from an institutional manager's viewpoint. We also described some challenges and issues. This paper describes the progress in addressing some of those issues, and developments in the DSpace open source community. We go into detail about the processes and infrastructure we have developed around the DSpace code base, in the hope that this will be useful to other projects and organisations exploring the possibilities of becoming involved in or transitioning to open source development of digital library software. Some new challenges the DSpace community faces, particularly in the area of addressing required system architecture changes, are introduced. We also describe some exciting new possibilities that open source development brings to our community.
Using response probability to build system redundancy in multiagent systems

This work shows that a simple response probability model may be used in decentralized multiagent systems to dynamically build and maintain redundancy in terms of agent experience. We model this system theoretically and use this model to provide guidance on how to choose response probability values that ensure that task needs are met and that ensure the a given level of redundancy is achieved.
Shuttle Laser Altimeter

The Shuttle Laser Altimeter (SLA) is a Hitchhiker experiment that has flown twice; first on STS-72 in January 1996 and then on STS-85 in August 1997. Both missions produced successful laser altimetry and surface lidar data products from approximately 80 hours per mission of SLA data operations. A total of four Shuttle missions are planned for the SLA series. This paper documents SLA mission results and explains SLA pathfinder accomplishments at the mid-point in this series of Hitchhiker missions. The overall objective of the SLA mission series is the transition of the Goddard Space Flight Center airborne laser altimeter and lidar technology to low Earth orbit as a pathfinder for NASA operational space-based laser remote sensing devices. Future laser altimeter sensors will utilize systems and approaches being tested with SLA, including the Multi-Beam Laser Altimeter (MBLA) and the Geoscience Laser Altimeter System (GLAS). MBLA is the land and vegetation laser sensor for the NASA Earth System Sciences Pathfinder Vegetation Canopy Lidar (VCL) Mission, and GLAS is the Earth Observing System facility instrument on the Ice, Cloud, and Land Elevation Satellite (ICESat). The Mars Orbiting Laser Altimeter, now well into a multi-year mapping mission at the red planet, is also directly benefiting from SLA data analysis methods, just as SLA benefited from MOLA spare parts and instrument technology experience [5] during SLA construction in the early 1990s.
High-performance polymer-based electrophosphorescent light-emitting diodes

High-performance electrophosphorescent light-emitting diodes (LEDs) were demonstrated with tris-[9,9-dihexyl-2-(pyridinyl-2′) fluorene] iridium(III) [Ir(DPF)3], tris-{9,9-dihexyl-2-[phenyl-4′-(-pyridin-2″-yl)] fluorene} iridium(III) [Ir(DPPF)3], and tris-[2,5-bis-2′-(9,9′-dihexylfluorene) iridium] [Ir(HFP)3] as guests and poly(vinylcarbazole) (PVK) blended with 2-tert-butylphenyl-5-biphenyl-1,3,4-oxadiazol (PBD), poly(9,9-dioctylfluorenyl-2,7-diyl) (PFO), and poly(9,9-dihexylfluorene)-co-2,5-dicyanophenylene (PF3CNP1) as hosts. The devices made with PVK-PBD exhibited the highest external quantum efficiency (QEext), luminous efficiency (LE) and luminance (L). For example, yellowish green emission from PVK-PBD doped with Ir(DPF)3 was observed with QEext = 10% ph/el, LE = 36 cd/A, and L > 8300 cd/m2, and red emission from PVK-PBD doped with Ir(DPPF)3 was observed with QEext = 5% ph/el, LE = 7.2 cd/A, and L > 2700 cd/m2. Red electrophosphorescent LEDs with a low turn-on voltage (5 V), QEext= 4.5% ph/el, LE = 6.2 cd/A, and L > 1000 cd/m2 were achieved with the conjugated polymer, PFO, as the host and Ir(HFP)3 as the guest. Electrophosphorescent LEDs fabricated with the conjugated copolymer PF3CNP1 doped with Ir(HFP)3 exhibited QEext = 1.5% ph/el and LE = 3 cd/A with L = 2200 cd/m2. These devices exhibited good operational stability under DC drive at room temperature. Forster energy transfer played a minor role in achieving the high efficiencies in these electrophosphorescent devices; direct sequential charge trapping appeared to be the main operating mechanism. These results demonstrated that high-performance electrophosphorescence can be obtained from polymer-based LEDs that are fabricated by processing the active materials directly from solution. © 2003 Wiley Periodicals, Inc. J Polym Sci Part B: Polym Phys 41: 2691–2705, 2003
The "New VA": A National Laboratory for Health Care Quality Management:

In 1995, the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) initiated the most radical redesign of the veterans health care system since the system was formally created in 1946. One of the goals of this reengineering effort has been to ensure the consistent and predictable provision of high-quality care everywhere in the system. To accomplish this goal, the VHA has organized more than 100 different quality improvement activities according to a structure-, process-, and outcomes-focused quality management accountability framework (QMAF) that targets 10 interrelated dimensions of quality management (QM). Each of these dimensions utilizes a defined strategy and employs a menu of quality assessment and assurance tactics. Organizing these many different quality improvement activities into an accountability framework should facilitate the development of policies and procedures that will systematize the VHA's QM. The VHA's new operational structure and its approach to quality improvement provide a unique national laboratory for health care QM.
THE ELECTORAL POLITICS OF GAULLISTS IN THE FOURTH FRENCH REPUBLIC: IDEOLOGY OR CONSTITUENCY INTEREST?

The complex relationship between a deputy's Parliamentary voting record and his behavior in electoral politics in his constituency has rarely been traced in French political studies in a precise quantitative manner. One would like to contrast the extent to which both the deputy's Parliamentary voting record and his choices regarding coalitions in local politics depend upon his personal ideology with the extent to which the same behavior depends upon the political characteristics of his constituency. Even though ideological cleavages may exist across constituencies themselves, finding behavioral outcomes related to constituency characteristics could suggest that the deputy is motivated by his desire to be reelected.Studies that attempt a systematic analysis of deputies' behavior are few, despite Lerner's early exploration of the relationship between constituency characteristics and voting on the European Defense Community (EDC) issue. Recently, MacRae, in his volume on Fourth Republic Parliaments, has clearly emphasized the primacy of ideology, particularly with respect to the voting patterns that resulted in unstable governments. More specifically, MacRae gives an ideological interpretation to his finding that intra-party voting divisions can be accounted for by issue-related scales.MacRae also tries to relate Parliamentary behavior to analyses of voting behavior in the constituencies. In general, however, his analysis, relegated to one brief chapter dealing with “Assembly Votes and the Constituencies,” appears to have been incomplete.
Tumor-secreted PGE2 Inhibits CCL5 Production in Activated Macrophages through cAMP/PKA Signaling Pathway

One of the major characteristics of tumors is their ability to evade immunosurveillance through altering the properties and functions of host stromal and/or immune cells. CCL5 has been shown to play important roles in T cell proliferation, IFN-γ, and IL-2 production, which promotes the differentiation and proliferation of Th1 cells important for immune defense against intracellular infection. In this study we found that tumor-bearing mice were more susceptible to bacterial infection and showed reduced CCL5 levels in serum during endotoxic shock. Our data further demonstrated that the soluble factors secreted by mammary gland tumor cells but not normal mammary gland epithelial cells inhibited CCL5 expression in macrophages in response to LPS, but not to TNF-α stimulation. The inhibitory effect of tumor-secreted molecules on LPS-induced CCL5 expression was regulated at the post-transcriptional level. Blocking PGE2 synthesis by NS398 or through the use of PGE2 receptor antagonists AH-6809 (EP2 antagonist) and AH-23848 (EP4 antagonist) completely reversed the inhibitory effect of tumor-conditioned medium (TCM) on LPS-induced CCL5 expression. Moreover, PGE2 and the cAMP analog forskolin could mimic tumor-mediated CCL5 inhibition, and the inhibitory effects of TCM, PGE2, and cAMP analog on LPS-induced CCL5 expression could be completely reversed by the PKA inhibitor H89. Furthermore, blocking PGE2 synthesis in vivo led to partial recovery of CCL5 production during endotoxic shock. Taken together, our data indicate that PGE2 secreted from breast cancer cells suppresses CCL5 secretion in LPS-activated macrophages through a cAMP/PKA signaling pathway, which may result in suppression of host immune responses against subsequent bacterial infection.
Adapting homogeneous enzyme-linked competitive binding assays to microtiter plates

Recently devised homogeneous enzyme-linked binding assays useful for the rapid detection of carbohydrate structure/content of intact glycoproteins (via use of lectins as binders) and for quantitating given vitamins (e.g., biotin; using soluble binding proteins) are adapted successfully to a microtiter plate reader format. The problem of nonspecific adsorption of the binders and enzyme-saccharide/vitamin conjugates is solved via the addition of Tween 20 to the assay buffer. More convenient and reliable photometric detection of the preferred labeling enzyme, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase (G6PDH), is accomplished by monitoring the rate of generation of reduced thio-NAD (from thio-NAD) at 405 nm instead of NADH (from NAD) at 340 nm. By employing these modifications it is shown that homogeneous enzyme-linked binding assays can be readily adapted to microtiter plates without loss in analytical assay performance. Results further suggest that other homogeneous assays based on G6PDH, including commercial EMIT assays used routinely in clinical chemistry laboratories for detecting drugs of abuse, could, in principle, be run on microtiter plates to significantly enhance sample throughput.
Optimality of hyperbolic partial differential equations with dynamically constrained periodic boundary control : A flow control application

This paper is concerned with optimal control of a class of distributed-parameter systems governed by first-order, quasilinear hyperbolic partial differential equations that arise in optimal control problems of many physical systems such as fluids dynamics and elastodynamics. The distributed system is controlled via a forced nonlinear periodic boundary condition that describes a boundary control action. Further, the periodic boundary control is subject to a dynamic constraint imposed by a lumped-parameter system governed by ordinary differential equations that model actuator dynamics. The partial differential equations are thus coupled with the ordinary differential equations via the periodic boundary condition. Optimality of this coupled system is investigated using variational principles to seek an adjoint formulation of the optimal control problem. The results are then applied to solve a feedback control problem of the Mach number in a wind tunnel.
Charcoal hemoperfusion for treatment of ethchlorvynol overdose.

: Charcoal hemoperfusion is commonly employed to treat overdose of a number of drugs. There are varying Reports of its efficacy in the treatment of ethchlorvynol overdose. Herein is Reported a case of ethchlorvynol overdose successfully treated with charcoal hemoperfusion within 5 h of ingestion of 12.5 g of the drug. The patient was deeply comatose at that time but recovered consciousness at the end of 4 h of hemoperfusion. Ethchlorvynol clearance over the charcoal varied from 118 to 147 ml/min. There were no bleeding complications. Prompt charcoal hemoperfusion may be an effective mode of treatment in cases of ethchlorvynol intoxication.