cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Mass spectrometry of peptides and proteins.

PERSPECTIVES AND SUMMARY . . . . . ..... . ... . . . SCOPE OF REVIEW . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 977 979 MOLECULAR WEIGHT DETERMINATIONS OF PEPTlDES AND PROTEINS .. . . . 979 Fast Atom (Ion) Bombardment Ionization .. ........ . . .... ........ . . . 979 P lasma Desorption Ionization .......• . . . . . .. ... 983 Matrix-A ssisted Laser Desorption Ionization ...... ..... . . . . 984 Electrospray Ionization . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .... . . . . . . . . . .... ... . . .. . ... 985 PROBLEMS THAT CAN BE SOLVED BY ACCURATE (1:104) MOLECULAR WEIGHT INFORMATION ALONE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. .. . . 987 Check Correctness of an A mino Acid Sequence . . . . . . . . . . ...... . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . .. . . . 987 Detect Natural or Biosynthetic Mutations. . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ..... . . . ........ 990 Identify Chemical Modifications .... ...... . . . . . 991 Determine Extent of Glycosylation of Proteins ... .. .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . 992 Locate Disulfide Bonds ... . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ...... . ........ . . . .. .. .. 994 Partially Sequence Peptides by Chemical or Enzymatic Truncation..... ... . . . . . ..... . . 995 Identify Noncovalent Protein Complexes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 996 SEQUENCING OF PEPTlDES AND PROTEINS BY TANDEM MASS SPECTROMETRY . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . .. .... 997 Principles of Tandem Mass Spectrometry . . . . .. . . . . . . . . ... 997 Characteristics and Interpretation of CID Mass Spectra of Peptides ....... ...... . . ... 999 Strategies for Mass Spectrometric Sequencing of Proteins . . . . .. . . . . . . . .... . . 1 002 P osttranslational Modifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ... ...... . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 1005
Is Knowledge Enough? Considering HIV/AIDS Risk Behaviors and HIV/AIDS Knowledge with African American Women.

Background: This quantitative explanatory study was designed to explain the relationship between HIV/AIDS risk-taking behaviors among African American women and their knowledge surrounding HIV/AIDS. More specifically, the research considers whether knowledge alone was sufficient to alter African-American women's risk-taking behaviors regarding HIV/AIDS. Objectives: This study was designed to investigate knowledge surrounding sexual risk-taking behaviors including 1) heterosexual transmission; 2) low and sporadic condom usage; 3) illicit drug use; and 4) multiple sex partners associated with HIV positive and negative status among African-American women. Patients and Methods: Participants in this study were African-American women who ranged in age between 24 and 44 years. This sample of African-American women was divided into two groups according to their HIV status: 53 women who were HIV positive and 62 women who were HIV negative women. The data for this investigation were obtained through self-administered questionnaires. The t-test was used to analyze the data through the use of the windows version of the statistical package for social sciences (19.0). Results: Findings suggest that knowledge of HIV was not found to be significantly different for the HIV positive and negative groups, and thus, suggest that knowing about the consequences of risk-taking behaviors is not sufficient to alter one's behavior among African American women. The findings from this investigation will contribute new empirical knowledge to the existing social work database on HIV/AIDS and knowledge specifically relative to African-American women. Conclusions: It was anticipated that knowledge of HIV would have been significantly higher in the HIV negative group than in the HIV positive group. However, the hypothesis was not supported by data. The HIV positive women and negative women were equally knowledgeable about HIV/AIDS.
Phase I Trial of Docetaxel (Taxotere) for Patients with Relapsed or Refractory Acute Myeloid Leukemia (AML)

While complete remissions (CR) are obtained in 60-80% of patients with de novoacute myeloid leukemia (AML), in poor-prognosis AML the CR rate is much lower. There is about a 30% chance of achieving CR in secondary AML, refractory de novoAML, and AML in second relapse1. Thus the treatment of the poor-prognosis secondary AML patients, and early relapse or second relapse de novoAML, remains a major challenge in leukemia therapy. Investigation of new agents with potential anti-leukemic activity is therefore warranted in these groups.
Projections of the Superficial Dorsal Horn to the Midbrain and Thalamus

The mammalian somatosensory system includes a number of projection systems that originate in the spinal cord and terminate in the brainstem and thalamus (Willis and Coggeshall, 1978). Comparable pathways transmit information derived from activity of afferent fibers in the trigeminal and other cranial nerves. Two of the somatosensory tracts from the spinal cord synapse on neurons in the midbrain and thalamus, and so can be designated spinomesencephalic and spinothalamic tracts. However, this simple nomenclature is unlikely to reflect a simple organization, since the synaptic zones are in a number of different nuclei of diverse connectivity and the cells of origin are in all laminae of the spinal cord.
Mountain environments and geographic information systems

By M.F.Price and D.I.Heywood (eds), 1994, Taylor and Francis, London, 309 pp.. ISBN 07484 0088 5. The editors have organized this compilation of international papers into a cohesive Dow of information useful for those experienced in Geographic Information System (GIS) applications, as well as people more interested in the subject of mountain environments themselves. The focus of mountain environments for GIS applications provides an excellent framework for those just wishing to learn more about GIS is technology.
Cardiac Ultrasound in the Intensive Care Unit: Point-of-Care Transthoracic and Transesophageal Echocardiography

The following chapter is a summary of cardiac ultrasound in the intensive care unit. Imaging from basic transthoracic (TTE) to transesophageal echocardiography (TEE) will be outlined. The first section contains a review the physics directly related to cardiac imaging, including the transducers, presets (or exam types), and Doppler assessments needed for cardiac imaging. With this as a basis, focused cardiac ultrasound (FOCUS) is summarized. This section includes a discussion of the history of the basic echo, and a technical description of the four windows of TTE. The limited transthoracic exam (LTTE) and indications for FOCUS are also discussed. The sections on basic echo are followed a description of hemodynamic or quantative TTE, and an overview of TEE.
Functional mapping of multiple myeloma kinome with library of small molecule inhibitors

The functional role of individual kinases in multiple myeloma (MM) cells has been primarily interrogated using RNAi approaches, which are mechanistically dissimilar to the pharmacological action of small molecule inhibitors used in the clinic; and in stroma-free cultures, which don’t account for stroma-induced signaling events. To address these dissimilarities, we performed functional mapping of the kinome in 16 MM cell lines, cultured in the presence vs. absence of stromal cells, using a panel of 273 kinase inhibitors (100nM, 24-72 h exposure) targeting a total of 43 known primary oncogenic targets. The cell-autonomous activity of the various inhibitors was broadly potent for Aurora, PLK, and mTORC1/2 inhibitors (consistent with high proliferative rates of MM cell lines in vitro); modest to minimal for selective PDK1, PI3K (excluding those that also inhibit mTOR), and Akt inhibitors; virtually none for selective inhibitors of c-met, ALK, EGFR, HER2, c-kit, PDGFR, VEGFR, Flt3, FAK, Syk, Src, and BTK (even in cell lines with detectable transcripts for the respective kinases). We also observed modest activity for FGFR3 inhibitors against FGFR3expressing cell lines; and none for BRAF inhibitors in our BRAF wild-type cell lines (some of which had increased proliferation upon treatment; consistent with known adaptive activation of signaling through C-RAF). Testing 8 different MEK1/2 inhibitors identified lines with low, intermediate vs. high response; the latter being KRAS-mutant and BRAF-wild-type cells with high baseline p-ERK levels (e.g. due to MEK2-activating mutation in one cell line). Importantly, comparison of results obtained in the presence vs. absence of stroma, indicate heterogeneous effect of bone marrow stromal cells on MM cell response to inhibitors across different targets and cell lines, including stroma-induced resistance to the same kinase inhibitor for some cell lines vs. sensitization for others. Our studies demonstrate the feasibility of functional annotations of the kinome in MM using libraries of small-molecule kinase inhibitors in phenotypic assays against panels of cell lines. Our results provide insight into the relative role of different classes of kinases in MM, and how the genetic (e.g. MEK2 or BRAF mutation status) and microenvironmental context can influence the role of these kinases and possible future individualized administration of inhibitors against these kinases in MM. BP-032
Inferring Asset Correlations from CDS Spreads: A Structural Model Approach

Default correlation is a concern especially after witnessing the financial crisis. To find default correlations, we would like to know asset correlations which are unobservable. In this paper we derive a model to infer asset correlations from Credit Default Swaps (CDSs). We use a structural model approach with the first passage time as default. The resulting model is closed-form and extremely easy to compute. Using the data from 2004 to 2008, we find the average implied asset correlation from CDS to be over 0.4. The average equity correlation, which is usually used as a proxy for asset correlation, over the same period is 0.155. The result complies with the literature that there is another unobservable factor driving defaults among firms.
The (Non-)Effects of Campaign Finance Spending Bans on Macro Political Outcomes: Evidence from the States

This paper seeks to understand the effect of campaign finance laws on electoral and policy outcomes. Spurred by the recent Supreme Court decision, Citizens United v. FEC (2010), which eliminated bans on corporate and union political spending, the study focuses on whether such bans generate consequences notably different from an electoral system that lacks such bans. We observe three key outcomes: partisan control of government, incumbent reelection rates and corporate tax burdens. Using historical data on regulations in 49 American states between 1935 and 2009 we test alternative models for evaluating the impact of corporate and union spending bans put in place during this period. The results indicate that spending bans appear to have limited, if any, effect on these outcomes.
Using Visual Media to Reduce Homophobia: A Classroom Demonstration

A classroom demonstration using visual media was designed as a means for decreasing homophobia. Slides and video scenarios showed that gay/lesbian/bisexual characters are most often depicted as stereotyped, suicidal, or pathological. Homophobia and empathy for homosexuals were measured at the beginning and end of the term. Results showed a significant decrease in homophobia and a significant increase in empathy among students exposed to the demonstration. Analogous changes in attitudes toward homosexuals were not found among students not exposed to the demonstration.
Kilowatt high-efficiency narrow-linewidth monolithic fiber amplifier operating at 1034 nm

Power scaling investigation of a narrow-linewidth, Ytterbium-doped all-fiber amplifier operating at 1034 nm is presented. Nonlinear stimulated Brillouin scattering (SBS) effects were suppressed through the utilization of an external phase modulation technique. Here, the power amplifier was seeded with a spectrally broadened master oscillator and the results were compared using both pseudo-random bit sequence (PRBS) and white noise source (WNS) phase modulation formats. By utilizing an optical band pass filter as well as optimizing the length of fiber used in the pre-amplifier stages, we were able to appreciably suppress unwanted amplified spontaneous emission (ASE). Notably, through PRBS phase modulation, greater than two-fold enhancement in threshold power was achieved when compared to the WNS modulated case. Consequently, by further optimizing both the power amplifier length and PRBS pattern at a clock rate of 3.5 GHz, we demonstrated 1 kilowatt of power with a slope efficiency of 81% and an overall ASE content of less than 1%. Beam quality measurements at 1 kilowatt provided near diffraction-limited operation (M2 < 1.2) with no sign of modal instability. To the best of our knowledge, the power scaling results achieved in this work represent the highest power reported for a spectrally narrow all-fiber amplifier operating at < 1040 nm in Yb-doped silica-based fiber.
Plasma ketosteroid in adrenal-tumor bearing mice.

SummaryA transplantable adrenal mouse carcinoma produced elevated plasma ketosteroid in the host. Non-tumor-bearing mice subjected to gonadectomy-adrenalectomy have negligible levels of plasma ketosteroid. Tumor-bearing mice have unchanged plasma levels following this procedure indicating steroid production by the tumor. ACTH and Δ1-9α fluorohydrocortisone have no influence on the plasma ketosteroid level of tumor-bearing animals. Distant metastases were found in adrenalectomized-gonadectomized males and adrenalectomized females, but not in animals not subjected to these procedures.
Relentless Pursuit of “0” Harm

Patient centered care pushed by patient advocacy groups and codified by the Affordable Care Act has made the pursuit of zero patient harm a quality care requirement. Society demands we treat our patients with courtesy and respect, we listen to them, and that we explain in ways they can understand. Doing so requires dedicated efforts in change management for leaders and all relevant stakeholders in patient care. A fundament principal of High Reliability Organizations is zero patient harm.
Colonial Trauma, Utopian Carnality, Modernist Form: Toni Morrison’s Beloved and Arundhati Roy’s The God of Small Things

In the Introduction to his Postcolonial Narrative and the Work of Mourning, Sam Durrant makes a powerful case for the salience of trauma to the study of colonialism. Durrant asks us to attend anew to the moment in Fanon’s Black Skin, White Masks when a child points at the author and says, “‘Dirty Nigger!’ Or simply, ‘Look, a Negro!’” This textual moment, he argues, “memorializes a traumatic event” that interpolates Fanon not as an individual but as a member of a race … apart, other, nonhuman. The experiences of racism that he [Fanon] goes on to recount do not add up to a narrative precisely because they cannot be integrated into a life history; they are repetitions of an “originary” event that bars him from having a life history and from the temporality of the human. (2004: 14)
Statement of Commissioner Gail Heriot in the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights Report on Minorities in Special Education

In 2009, the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights issued a report entitled, “Minorities in Special Education.” This statement by Commissioner Gail Heriot is her individual contribution to that report. In it, she discusses the fact that African-American and American-Indian children are disproportionately likely to be assigned to special education programs and the various reasons that might account for the disproportionality.
Special Divine Action and Natural Science

A number of modern theologians have concluded that the rise of natural science makes it necessary to give up the idea that God acts in particular ways to affect the course of events in the world. I reply to this claim, taking up the challenge to explain what might be meant by a ‘special’ act of God. There are several ways to conceive of such acts, including the possibility that God might determine what is left determinable in the structures of nature, e.g., at the quantum level. I address objections to this view, and consider metaphysical puzzles that it presents.
PIXiE: an algorithm for automated ion mobility arrival time extraction and collision cross section calculation using global data association.

Motivation: Drift tube ion mobility spectrometry coupled with mass spectrometry (DTIMS-MS) is increasingly implemented in high throughput omics workflows, and new informatics approaches are necessary for processing the associated data. To automatically extract arrival times for molecules measured by DTIMS at multiple electric fields and compute their associated collisional cross sections (CCS), we created the PNNL Ion Mobility Cross Section Extractor (PIXiE). The primary application presented for this algorithm is the extraction of data that can then be used to create a reference library of experimental CCS values for use in high throughput omics analyses. Results: We demonstrate the utility of this approach by automatically extracting arrival times and calculating the associated CCSs for a set of endogenous metabolites and xenobiotics. The PIXiE-generated CCS values were within error of those calculated using commercially available instrument vendor software. Availability and implementation: PIXiE is an open-source tool, freely available on Github. The documentation, source code of the software, and a GUI can be found at https://github.com/PNNL-Comp-Mass-Spec/PIXiE and the source code of the backend workflow library used by PIXiE can be found at https://github.com/PNNL-Comp-Mass-Spec/IMS-Informed-Library. Contact:erin.baker@pnnl.gov or thomas.metz@pnnl.gov Supplementary information:Supplementary data are available at Bioinformatics online.
Environmental Challenges and Impacts

Road construction involves a profound alteration of the earth’s surface, which leads to many negative impacts on the environment. These impacts are frequently not just localized events restricted to the particular road location and often have far reaching effects in other areas. While some effects are immediate others evolve over a period of time and involve an interconnected chain of events. Consequently these effects can be categorized as direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts. To assess the overall environmental impact of road construction projects, activities associated with the project that do not take place at the main site should be considered also. For example, the materials used for the project may actually be excavated from a site some distance from the project area. The impacts can be grouped into several categories including land and water effects, biodiversity and habitat loss, pollution, and road kill. In Nepal one of the most common environmental disasters are landslides. In many places landslides are the direct result of road cuts and improper cut and fill techniques. This combined with intense seasonal monsoonal rains every year results in loss of life, livestock, valuable agricultural land, and homes and blocks mobility corridors. Many of these effects can be seen along the Marsyangdi Highway in Lamjung and Manang Districts. This road (recently completed in 2016) has had acute impacts on local communities and on the most popular trekking route in Nepal, the Annapurna Circuit Trail.
Occupation and Malignant Melanoma of the Skin

Occupational risks for malignant melanoma (MM) of the skin have not been systematically studied. Epidemiologic research on MM has focused on sunlight exposure, even though available evidence shows that, unlike most other cancers in general and other cancers of the skin in particular, MM tends to be associated with indoor work, upper socioeconomic status, and particularly technical-professional occupations (Beral and Robinson 1981; Lee and Strickland 1980; Teppo et al. 1980). These findings have been largely dismissed by appealing to postulated differences in leisure-time sun exposure in these occupational groups. New evidence suggests, however, that the occupational epidemiology of MM is an area in serious need of further study.
The Recall of Events from the Individual and Collective Past

Recent studies in life-span developmental psychology (Baltes et al., 1970; Riegel and Riegel, 1972; Schaie and Strother, 1968a, 1968b), related to explorations in the sociology of generational shifts (Bengtson and Black, 1973; Riley, Johnson, and Foner, 1972; Ryder, 1965), have explicated the confounded changes in the individual and in society. These advances have been made possible through the elaboration of developmental research designs (Baltes, 1968; Schaie, 1965, 1970). Primarily, the psychological studies have focused upon formal explorations and not upon the underlying sociohistorical processes that, in principle, were recognized as influencing the growth of the individual. The sociology of generational shifts, on the other hand, directed its attention toward these sociohistorical processes but did not explore their impact upon the development of the individual. The following four studies investigate the interactions between individual-psychological and cultural-sociological changes. In particular, I apply the paradigm of developmental psychology to the study of history and the paradigm of historical inquiries to the study of the growing individual.
Fences / Moonlight / The Birth of a Nation

Using the lens of cultural selfobjects, this review offers a cursory reflection on three Black films released in 2016: Fences, Moonlight, and The Birth of a Nation. Released in one of the most cont...
Phosphorylated CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein β Contributes to Rat HIV-Related Neuropathic Pain: In Vitro and In Vivo Studies

Chronic pain is increasingly recognized as an important comorbidity of HIV-infected patients, however, the exact molecular mechanisms of HIV-related pain are still elusive. CCAAT/enhancer binding proteins (C/EBPs) are expressed in various tissues, including the CNS. C/EBPβ, one of the C/EBPs, is involved in the progression of HIV/AIDS, but the exact role of C/EBPβ and its upstream factors are not clear in HIV pain state. Here, we used a neuropathic pain model of perineural HIV envelope glycoprotein gp120 application onto the rat sciatic nerve to test the role of phosphorylated C/EBPβ (pC/EBPβ) and its upstream pathway in the spinal cord dorsal horn (SCDH). HIV gp120 induced overexpression of pC/EBPβ in the ipsilateral SCDH compared with contralateral SCDH. Inhibition of C/EBPβ using siRNA against C/EBPβ reduced mechanical allodynia. HIV gp120 also increased TNFα, TNFRI, mitochondrial superoxide (mtO2·-), and pCREB in the ipsilateral SCDH. ChIP-qPCR assay showed that pCREB enrichment on the C/EBPβ gene promoter regions in rats with gp120 was higher than that in sham rats. Intrathecal TNF soluble receptor I (functionally blocking TNFα bioactivity) or knockdown of TNFRI using antisense oligodeoxynucleotide against TNFRI reduced mechanical allodynia, and decreased mtO2·-, pCREB and pC/EBPβ. Intrathecal Mito-tempol (a mitochondria-targeted O2·-scavenger) reduced mechanical allodynia and decreased pCREB and pC/EBPβ. Knockdown of CREB with antisense oligodeoxynucleotide against CREB reduced mechanical allodynia and lowered pC/EBPβ. These results suggested that the pathway of TNFα/TNFRI-mtO2·--pCREB triggers pC/EBPβ in the HIV gp120-induced neuropathic pain state. Furthermore, we confirmed the pathway using both cultured neurons treated with recombinant TNFα in vitro and repeated intrathecal injection of recombinant TNFα in naive rats. This finding provides new insights in the understanding of the HIV neuropathic pain mechanisms and treatment.SIGNIFICANCE STATEMENT Painful HIV-associated sensory neuropathy is a neurological complication of HIV infection. Phosphorylated C/EBPβ (pC/EBPβ) influences AIDS progression, but it is still not clear about the exact role of pC/EBPβ and the detailed upstream factors of pC/EBPβ in HIV-related pain. In a neuropathic pain model of perineural HIV gp120 application onto the sciatic nerve, we found that pC/EBPβ was triggered by TNFα/TNFRI-mtO2·--pCREB signaling pathway. The pathway was confirmed by using cultured neurons treated with recombinant TNFα in vitro, and by repeated intrathecal injection of recombinant TNFα in naive rats. The present results revealed the functional significance of TNFα/TNFRI-mtO2·--pCREB-pC/EBPβ signaling in HIV neuropathic pain, and should help in the development of more specific treatments for neuropathic pain.
Training at Work and Aging

Training is defined as a collection of organizational activities that presents employees with job-relevant information with the intent of yielding permanent changes in job-related knowledge, skills, and attitudes. The objective of work-related training is to increase job performance and ultimately work toward organizational goals. Aging employees in the workplace experience developmental changes in cognitive ability and motivation that can affect their performance during training programs. Below, considerations for age-related training are discussed.
Deferred Lynching and the Moral High Ground in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition

Maria Seger, “Deferred Lynching and the Moral High Ground in Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition ” (pp. 94–118) As a literary trope, deferred lynching can attempt to establish lynching as a moral act: the deferral implies that mobs never lynch innocent men or that they always allow the law to take its course under normal (unexceptional) circumstances. But in some canonical literature at the end of the nineteenth century, the deferred lynching instead serves to critique this alleged morality of lynching. Throughout these texts, the persistent underlying threat of extralegal violence is revealed to undergird a system of exploitation on which racial capitalism depends. Taken together, then, this body of work featuring deferred lynching suggests how racial capitalism has managed to escape blame for extralegal violence for so long: by constructing its own generosity as the reason for lynching’s deferment rather than recognizing its structural role in inspiring and profiting from lynching violence. In Charles W. Chesnutt’s The Marrow of Tradition (1901), the deferred lynching of a black servant, brokered through a gentlemen’s agreement between elite white men, demonstrates that the forces encouraging the mob are not motivated by doing the right thing but instead by economic and political gain. But by deferring the lynching instead of executing it, the white elite maintains its claim to the moral high ground while still reaping the economic and political benefits that executed lynchings provided. In exposing the paradoxical rhetoric of lynching in this way, Chesnutt’s novel attends to the parallels between the white elite’s justification of lynching and the defense of unequal personhood and uneven risk under racial capitalism.
Tumors of the Lymphoid and Hematopoietic Systems

The grading of tumors plays a less significant role in the hematopoietic and lymphoid systems than perhaps for any other organ system. While grading was once an integral part of the classification of non-Hodgkin lymphomas, it is now considered more relevant to give a precise classification to provide the information that the clinician requires for prognosis and treatment planning. Nonetheless, for certain neoplasms grading plays an accepted and sometimes important role. In the future, ancillary methods such as immunohistochemistry, flow cytometry, and cytogenetics (already of great importance), as well as gene profiling, will likely play an even more critical role in determining prognosis and response to therapy in lymphoid and hematopoietic neoplasms.
Expression, purification, and characterization of a predicted Drosophila glutaminyl cyclase

Glutaminyl cyclase (QC) is responsible for the N-terminal conversion of glutamine to pyroglutamate in many peptides. Though the N-terminal pyroglutamate is found in many different peptides in virtu...
Why Do People Stick with a Specific Social Networking Site? An Integrated Relationship and Uses Gratification Perspective

Since their inception, social networking sites (SNSs) have experienced exponential growth. While substantial research has been dedicated to users’ initial adoption of SNSs, the fall of MySpace reminds us that the long-term success of SNSs depends on users’ post adoption staying power. Inspired by this, this work-in-progress investigates users’ “stickiness” with a specific SNS. Based on Li et al. (2006)’s Commitment-Trust Model of Website Stickiness (CTM), this paper focuses on the relationships between SNSs and users. To refine CTM in the new context, we further borrow the Uses and Gratifications Theory from the Communication field to propose an integrated model.
The Carbon Isotope Biogeochemistry of Methane Production in Anoxic Sediments: 2. A Laboratory Experiment

The factors that contribute to variability in the isotopic composition of methane produced by anoxic sediment were evaluated by monitoring stable carbon isotope ratios in methane produced by a sediment microcosm. Anoxic marine sediment from Cape Lookout Bight, North Carolina, was placed in a 2-L pyrex incubation syringe for 114 d. Sediment samples were removed at weekly intervals and analyzed for sulfate, acetate, and methane concentrations as well as13C/12C ratios in the dissolved CO2 and methane pools. In addition, rates of sulfate reduction, methane production from acetate, and methane production from CO2 were measured by radiotracer techniques. The isotopic composition of the methane pool varied by more than 40%0 over the course of the experiment. The changes appear to be the result of at least two factors: (1) changes in the isotopic composition of the dissolved CO2 pool and (2) changes in the fraction of the methane production derived from acetate. A comparison of the laboratory experiment with field data suggests that similar biogeochemical processes operate to control carbon isotope ratios of methane in both undisturbed and laboratory-incubated sediment.
Digital Radiographic Imaging: Is the Dental Practice Ready?

ABSTRACT Background Digital radiographic imaging is slowly, but surely, replacing film-based imaging. It has many advantages over traditional imaging, but the technology also has some drawbacks. The author presents an overview of the types of digital image receptors available, image enhancement software and the range of costs for the new technology. Practice Implications The expenses associated with converting to digital radiographic imaging are considerable. The purpose of this article is to provide the clinician with an overview of digital radiographic imaging technology so that he or she can be an informed consumer when evaluating the numerous digital systems in the marketplace.
Iron isotope constraints on planetesimal core formation in the early solar system

Abstract We determined the Fe isotope fractionation between the metal and silicate phases of two aubrite meteorites, Norton County and Mount Egerton. We find that the metallic phase is high in 57Fe/54Fe with respect to the silicate phase, with Δ57Femetal-silicate = 0.08‰ ± 0.04 for Mount Egerton and 0.09 ± 0.02‰ for Norton County. These data, combined with new measurements of 57Fe/54Fe of IIIAB iron meteorites, are used to constrain the origins of the high 57Fe/54Fe exhibited by all classes of iron meteorites. We find that if the parent bodies of the iron meteorites had chondritic bulk 57Fe/54Fe values, their cores must have been unusually small (≤8% by mass). Relaxing the constraint that the bodies were chondritic in their bulk iron isotope ratios allows for larger core mass fractions commensurate with usual expectations. In this case, the elevated 57Fe/54Fe values of iron meteorites are due in part to evaporation of melt during the accretion stages of the parent bodies and not solely the result of metal-silicate differentiation.
Opposite Market Responses to Meeting or Beating Earnings Expectations

Using 24,756 firm-year observations from 1992 to 2003, we report three major findings related to opposite market response to MBE: (1) Earnings management and/or expectations management increases the probability of receiving negative market responses for MBE firms. This suggests that investors are capable of seeing through MBE achieved by earnings management and/or expectations management and adjusting accordingly. (2) Positive earnings growth is a necessary condition for firms to achieve the expected market response when meeting or beating expectations. That is, for firms with positive earnings growth, the market is more likely to punish, by responding negatively, firms that fail to MBE. In addition, the market is also likely to punish MBE firms if earnings growth is negative. (3) The opposite market response is positively associated with firm size and therefore a function of institutional investor trading. The results suggests that there has been an over emphasis on positive effects associated with MBE and managers should use caution before participating in the "Numbers game."
Demand for Public Good As a Correspondence of Cost Shares

In this paper I study optimal demand by an agent who faces a budget constraint that may not be linear. This situation arises in public good economies in which production of the public good does not exhibit constant returns to scale and in which each agent is responsible for a fixed proportion of the cost of whatever quantity of the public good is provided. I define an agent's demand for public good as a correspondence of the cost share so that I include economies in which production of public good exhibits constant returns to scale or the public good is perfectly substitutable by private good. I demonstrate that an agent's demand for the public good decreases as their share of the costs increases and thus extend the law of demand beyond a setting in which agents pay personalized prices for the public good.
Solvothermal synthesis of porous organic cage CC3 in the presence of dimethylformamide as solvent

A prototypical porous organic cage denoted as CC3 was synthesized in the presence of dimethylformamide as solvent. Stirring effects and solvothermal treatment conditions lead to distinctive morphological, structural, and textural properties of the resultant CC3 crystals. The presence of DMF led to a mixture of alpha and dissymmetric cage structures. The crystallinity of the resulting crystals was highly dependent on the solvothermal temperature.
Evolution of capstone-courses in software engineering a finishing school

This paper describes the two-semester capstone courses in Software Engineering offered in the Computer Science Department at Siena College. These courses have been offered for 27 years and they have recently become a graduation requirement for the major. The courses tie-together a variety of educational themes and goals related to Software Engineering, professional behavior, and preparation for professional careers. Over the years, the syllabi, content, format, and teaching-approach has changed substantially. This paper describes the two Software Engineering courses, and how the courses have changed, and how faculty and students perceive the courses.
Paraconsistent or Paracomplete

This paper attempts a comprehensive account of the comparative merits of paracomplete and dialetheic approaches to the semantic paradoxes. It argues that aside from issues about conditionals, there can be no strong case for paracomplete approaches over dialetheic, or dialetheic over paracomplete, and indeed that in absence of conditionals, the two approaches are plausibly seen as notational variants. Graham Priest disagrees: many of his arguments favoring dialetheic solutions over paracomplete do not turn on issues about conditionals. The paper discusses his arguments on these points in some detail. On the matter of conditionals, it argues that extant paracomplete approaches are far better than extant dialetheic approaches, a fact that traces in part to dialetheists having focused too heavily on “relevant logics”. It holds out hope for better dialetheic treatments of conditionals (including of how the distinct kinds of conditionals interact), but it also suggests that this is the one area where paracomplete approaches are inevitably better.
Locating the Outsider Inside Tokyo

This chapter foregrounds fiction and film that challenge ideologies of homogeneity in Japan by mapping the spaces occupied by the “outsider” inside Tokyo. Outsider-characters in the works discussed here include those who are not members of the majority Japanese population either due to their ethnicity or due to their nationality. They also include those who are members of the majority Japanese population but whose homelessness or sexual orientation, for example, places them “outside” of mainstream society. What often binds together these outsider-characters is the emotional trauma and, sometimes, actual physical violence they experience. For them, Tokyo is not a place of safety and security.
Learning-by-Doing: Teaching Qualitative Methods in DC

Learning-by-doing presents an opportunity for political science departments to instruct undergraduate students in social science research methods. Conducting these trainings as short-term, high imp...
Improving Reservoir Development by Integrating Reservoir Navigation Interpretations into Sub-surface 3D Models

Abstract Reservoir navigation, often referred to as geosteering, is commonly used to optimize the placement of highly deviated wells. This technology has contributed significantly to the prolongation and economic well-being of mature hydrocarbon provinces around the world and been a major enabler for the commercial success of unconventional reservoirs. The reservoir information and analysis obtained during reservoir navigation is extensive and very valuable, yet is known to sometimes remain unused. Part of the reason is the complexity of reservoir navigation data and the limitations that many geosteering software applications cannot integrate the information provided from this data to update seismic-based 3D models. This paper demonstrates a fast and effective method of utilizing spatial reservoir navigation information to improve the three-dimensional understanding of producing reservoirs. Reservoir navigation interpretations from one or more wells can be used as inputs. The results include updated structure maps, refined gross rock volume (eg shale volume in unconventional reservoirs), updated values for porosity and water saturation and ultimately a revised volumetrics calculation. The results can be compared with calculations from other methods such as material balance and decline curves. Analyzing conflicting field data and reconciling them creates opportunities for improved drilling opportunities and better reservoir development. Datasets used in the paper show some specific examples of how the 3D workflows lead to better field developments with enhanced drilling operations and improving recovery factors. In the future, significant technical developments are expected in the type and complexity of reservoir navigation data originating from logging while drilling (LWD) tools. These data types will easily be included in the new 3D workflows without introducing undue complexity. Integrating reservoir navigation interpretations into sub-surface 3D models can be of benefit for real time drilling operations and also for field studies. The method uses a 3D workflow that can be completed easily and is fast enough to update models in real time. It is therefore useful for the purposes of improving architectural and geomorphological understanding of an area larger in scale than just the immediate active well. This creates an information rich environment with insightful information during geosteering real time jobs for better decisions. Additionally, the analysis method can be performed as a field study. This more comprehensive approach allows integration with other information after drilling operations have ceased to improve resource recovery and pick better future drilling targets.
Republication of: Finding Our Roots: An Exercise For Creating a Personal Teaching Philosophy Statement:

Teaching philosophy statements clarify why we do what we do in the classroom, and the process of drafting a philosophy offers an opportunity for developmental reflection. Personal teaching philosop...
Prevalence of post-traumatic stress disorder in caregivers of pediatric neurosurgical patients.

Having a child receive a neurosurgical diagnosis creates significant stress and anxiety in caregivers. The stress of these life-threatening and emotionally charged diagnoses may put caregivers at risk for developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). While PTSD has been studied in a variety of caregivers of pediatric populations, to the best of our knowledge, it has yet to be examined in caregivers commonly seen in general pediatric neurosurgical practices. This study was designed to gain an understanding of the prevalence of PTSD within this population. A cross-sectional survey method was utilized. Participants completed both a survey to provide demographic information, and the Posttraumatic Stress Checklist for DSM-5 (PCL-5) which is used to make a provisional diagnosis of PTSD. Surveys were distributed both in person and online between December 2018 and April 2019. One hundred sixty-eight surveys were included in the study. According to the DSM-5 diagnostic criteria, 44.6% (n = 75) of caregivers screened positively for a provisional diagnosis of PTSD. The specific neurosurgical diagnosis (p = 0.002), number of surgeries (p = 0.008), and category of the last surgery (p = 0.026) impacted the rate of PTSD symptoms in this population. Most caregivers who screened positive for PTSD experience a high level of disturbing memories and physical reactions to the events and avoid reminders of the medical experience. Caregivers also report a loss of interest in activities, feel distant from other people, and have difficulties with concentration and sleep. There was no significant relationship between caregivers who identified having a high level of anxiety before their child was diagnosed and who screened positive for PTSD. This study has identified a higher number of caregivers screening positive for PTSD within pediatric neurosurgical patients, than previously reported in other populations. Specific neurosurgical diagnosis, number of surgeries, and category of last surgery all impact a positive screen for the condition. Caregivers who avoid remembering events surrounding their child’s diagnosis are at a higher risk of having the condition. The results highlight the need to identify ways to decrease the impact of a pediatric neurosurgical diagnosis on the mental health of caregivers. Future research focused on early mental health intervention for caregivers of pediatric neurosurgical patients may be helpful in reducing the long-term impact of this difficult condition.
The Relationship Between School Quality and U.S. Multi-family Housing Rents

Drawing on a sample, of U.S. multi-family apartment and school data from across 45 U.S. Core Based Statistical Areas, this paper examines the capitalization of school quality into apartment rents. It makes three contributions. First, in the context of the geographically diverse data, results tend to be consistent with individual market analyses in the extant literature though there is some important geographic variation. Second, capitalization patterns vary across measures of school quality and tend to consistent with observed patterns within the single-family oriented research including by region. Third, congruent with life cycle literature, multi-family renters appear, on average, to capitalize primary school quality to a greater extent than intermediate and secondary school levels. Results are robust when considering school choice and other inter-jurisdictional nuances or econometric techniques.
A catalog of the diversity and ubiquity of bacterial microcompartments

Bacterial microcompartments (BMCs) are organelles that segregate segments of metabolic pathways which are incompatible with surrounding metabolism. BMCs consist of a selectively permeable shell, composed of three types of structurally conserved proteins, together with sequestered enzymes that vary among functionally distinct BMCs. Genes encoding shell proteins are typically clustered with those for the encapsulated enzymes. Here, we report that the number of identifiable BMC loci has increased twenty-fold since the last comprehensive census of 2014, and the number of distinct BMC types has doubled. The new BMC types expand the range of compartmentalized catalysis and suggest that there is more BMC biochemistry yet to be discovered. Our comprehensive catalog of BMCs provides a framework for their identification, correlation with bacterial niche adaptation, experimental characterization, and development of BMC-based nanoarchitectures for biomedical and bioengineering applications.
The Extracurriculum of Shortridge High School

This chapter will discuss several activities that were part of the extracurriculum at Shortridge or as they are known today: clubs, groups, sports, and academic teams. Donnan was sponsor for many of these extracurricular groups and was creator of the Shortridge Senate, which gained nationwide notoriety. These groups, especially the Senate, contributed significantly to the civic culture at Shortridge. There is an extensive amount of data on the Senate that provides a distinct view of student engagement and Donnan’s effect on the school’s civic culture. Similarly, the daily student newspaper, the Daily Echo, was a major extracurricular undertaking, and while it is a significant data source, it is also an important aspect of the civic culture at Shortridge. Donnan’s devotion to the extracurriculum also highlights her struggle with gender ideologies, in both her and her students’ lives, at Shortridge High School in the Progressive Era.
Mushroom Mycelium Regeneration in Tropical Environments

Mushrooms thrive in tropical environments. Unlike crops, they do not require arable land, special light, or large amounts of water. Mushrooms grow quickly, the typical life cycle being 3-4 weeks. Mushrooms can be grown year-round and be produced off the waste (e.g. rice husk) of other agricultural products. Commercial production of mushrooms bolsters food security and creates new opportunities for farmers as it is not only lucrative and sustainable, but mushrooms contain important micronutrients and they can be easily integrated into people's diets. A fundamental challenge to commercial mushroom production in low-resource settings is acquiring the fungus mycelium and keeping it alive to use for continuous production. It is difficult to keep mycelium alive without lab-like conditions for sterility and electricity for refrigeration. This paper illustrates a novel way to produce mycelium consistently and inexpensively without the use of advanced technology or electricity. This method of propagating spawn by producing second generation grain spawn has been validated in both lab and production environments in the US as well as production environments in Sierra Leone. The ability to grow second-generation spawn is an important breakthrough as it enables commercial mushroom production and circular agricultural economies in low-resource settings.
Reputation and Civil War: Why Separatist Conflicts Are So Violent

Of all the different types of civil war, disputes over self-determination are the most likely to escalate into war and resist compromise settlement. Reputation and Civil War argues that this low rate of negotiation is the result of reputation building, in which governments refuse to negotiate with early challengers in order to discourage others from making more costly demands in the future. Jakarta's wars against East Timor and Aceh, for example, were not designed to maintain sovereignty but to signal to Indonesia's other minorities that secession would be costly. Employing data from three different sources - laboratory experiments on undergraduates, statistical analysis of data on self-determination movements, and qualitative analyses of recent history in Indonesia and the Philippines - Barbara F. Walter provides some of the first systematic evidence that reputation strongly influences behavior, particularly between governments and ethnic minorities fighting over territory.