cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
A Comparative Analysis of Brazilian Departments

This paper intends to carry out in a comparative perspective a deep analysis of Brazilian cabinet (in Portuguese, ministerios). Much of the current literature on multiparty or coalitional presidentialism usually considers there is no reason to assume that different parties inside the government coalition have different interests when they are receiving a department (or ministry) from the executive. In this view, proportionality, regarding the number of seats each party has in the House of Representatives, and the number of departments given by the federal executive to this party in order to get future legislative support, should take into account only the gross number of departments received by the parties. It does not consider that for some kind of party one specific department is preferable than another one. This assumption must be questioned, so, it will be checked the characteristics of Brazilian cabinet regarding the degree of discretion in spending the budget, the ability to hire outsourced employees, normative power and others. Then all these Brazilian features will be compared with those of other nations.
Brains versus Brawn — Comparative Strategies for the Calibration of a Cellular Automata-Based Urban Growth Model

The need for good modelling tools to simulate urban growth are a planning tool necessary in today’s age of widespread urban growth and the natural and human disasters that quickly follow. The SLEUTH urban growth model is a CA-based urban change model that simulates urban growth according to a calibrated set of parameters. The following work compares two methods of calibration. The first, “Brute Force” method uses a predetermined order of stepping through the “coefficient space”. The second method, fully introduced here, uses a Genetic Algorithm (GA) to search through the coefficient space in an adaptive manner. This work compares the computational speed and modelled accuracy of the two methods, using the city of Sioux Falls, South Dakota (US) as a testbed. The results show that the GA method of calibration is superior to the Brute Force method, because of improved model fits, as well as superior computational needs. The forecasted model runs, to the year 2015 show different results from the GA and Brute Force methods, possibly due to the data used in model preparation. Improvements on the GA method of calibration are suggested as well as a hybrid approach to SLEUTH calibration.
Rationalizing our Way into Moral Progress

Research suggests that the explicit reasoning we offer to ourselves and to others is often rationalization, that we act instead on instincts, inclinations, stereotypes, emotions, neurobiology, habits, reactions, evolutionary pressures, unexamined principles, or justifications other than the ones we think we’re acting on, then we tell a post hoc story to justify our actions. This is troubling for views of moral progress according to which moral progress proceeds from our engagement with our own and others’ reasons. I consider an account of rationalization, based on Robert Audi’s, to make clear that rationalization, unlike simple lying, can be sincere. Because it can be sincere, and because we also have a desire to be consistent with ourselves, I argue that rationalization sets us up for becoming better people over time, and that a similar case can be made to explain how moral progress among groups of people can proceed via rationalization.
A comparison of infarct mass by cardiac magnetic resonance and real time myocardial perfusion echocardiography as predictors of major adverse cardiac events following reperfusion for ST elevation myocardial infarction.

Purpose Infarct mass as assessed by myocardial-delayed enhancement imaging on cardiac magnetic resonance (CMR) and myocardial blood flow as assessed by real time myocardial perfusion echocardiography (RT-MPE) have been shown to predict adverse events following ST elevation myocardial infarction (STEMI). There has been no published comparison of quantitative assessment using these modalities as predictors of clinical outcomes to date. We compared RT-MPE with CMR for prediction of cardiac events in reperfused STEMI patients. Materials and Methods Consecutive STEMI patients with early reperfusion were studied. RT-MPE and CMR were performed. Perfusion score indices (PSIRT-MPE and PSICMR) were calculated [sum of segmental perfusion scores/number of segments]. CMR infarct mass (g) and RT-MPE myocardial blood flow (MBF dB/s) were quantified. Patients were followed for cardiac events (death, nonfatal MI, revascularization, angina, and heart failure). Results All 27 patients (age 62±14; follow-up 3.5±2.6 years) had thrombolysis in myocardial infarction (TIMI) grade 3 flow of infarct vessel. Cardiac events occurred in 17 (63%). Cardiac event patients had higher PSIRT-MPE, PSICMR, infarct mass, and lower MBF. PSIRT-MPE cutoff of 0.3 had an AUC of 0.856 (82% sensitivity, 70% specificity), while a PSICMR cutoff of 0.2 had an AUC of 0.765 (76% sensitivity, 60% specificity). Infarct mass and MBF were independent predictors of cardiac events after adjusting for risk factors (hazard ratios: 20.9 [95% CI 1.8–256] P=.02 and 8.1 [95% CI 1.5–78] P=.01, respectively). Conclusions Quantitative RT-MPE performed comparably to CMR for prediction of MACE in STEMI patients supporting a prognostic role for this noninvasive, bedside imaging method.
Using wheat bran and soybean meal as solid state fermentation substances for the production of Xylaria nigripes with bioactivities

Abstract Different combinations of wheat bran (WB) and soy meal (SM) were used as solid state fermentation substrates for the growth of functional Xylaria nigripes ( XN, Wu Ling Shen , in Chinese). Hot water as well as ethanol (70%) were used to extract active compounds with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective properties. In general, ethanol was a more effective solvent than hot water to extract active compounds. When WB was used as the sole fermentation substrate, the ethanol extract of XN -fermented substances obtained the highest antioxidant activities, especially DPPH radical scavenging and reducing activities; anti-inflammation, as measured by the inhibition of COX-2 activity, was used as an active index. Fermentation substrates containing equal amounts of WB and SM increased the protective effects against H 2 O 2 -induced damage in neuronal cells (PC12 cells) for 70% ethanol-extracted XN . Both XN and residues of fermentation substrates may have contributed to the biological activities of XN -fermented substances.
Investigating Multiview and Multitask Learning Frameworks for Predicting Drug-Disease Associations

Drugs exhibit their therapeutic effects by interacting and modulating one or multiple protein targets simultaneously; hence deeper insights of complex drug-disease-targets associations is of paramount importance in drug discovery. During the last decades the idea of drug re-purposing has been explored, where an old drug is utilized to treat a new disease. Unveiling potentially new and interesting drug-disease-target associations is a challenging task, considering the complexity of biological systems. Hence novel computational approaches are of high demand to analyze, disseminate and predict new interesting interactions, utilizing the growing body of data from different domains, which could then act as starting point for therapy development. Recently, the idea of data integration has been gaining momentum, where information from heterogeneous sources is combined with the expectation to provide additional information regarding the underlying links between drugs-diseases-targets, that otherwise would be difficult to study. In this study, we investigate a new direction for studying drug-disease associations by utilizing and combining multiview and mutlitask learning through integration of heterogeneous source of data. Our results show the advantages of exploring these methods to more effectively combine information from varied sources. We use multiple data sets to show the consistency of the results obtained.
Objective physical and mental markers of self‐reported fatigue in women undergoing (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy for early‐stage breast cancer

BACKGROUND Objective, treatment-independent markers of cancer-related fatigue are needed to advance clinical trials. In the current study, the authors evaluated physical, neurocognitive, and serologic markers for correlation with self-reported fatigue before and after (neo)adjuvant chemotherapy for patients with early-stage breast cancer. METHODS Women with AJCC TNM Stage I-III breast cancer consented to assessment before and after the completion of 4 cycles of dose-dense doxorubicin and cyclophosphamide. Assessment included self-reported fatigue (using the Brief Fatigue Inventory), depression (using the Center for Epidemiologic Studies–Depression Scale [CES-D]), Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index, and 28 objective measures (grip strength in dominant and nondominant hands, 6-minute walk, daily total energy expenditure, 14 neurocognitive tests, and 10 serologic markers). Generalized linear regression models of fatigue were constructed (1 model per marker), and adjusted for depression, timing before/after chemotherapy, menopausal status, obesity, and educational level. P values were adjusted to control the False Discovery Rate. RESULTS Of 28 subjects, 3 withdrew without completing baseline assessments. Prechemotherapy and postchemotherapy data were available for the evaluation of physical measures (25 subjects aged 50.6 ± 9.5 years), neurocognitive tests (22 subjects), and serologic markers (10 subjects). On covariate-adjusted analysis, interleukin (IL)-12 was found to be associated with fatigue at both assessments (P<.01). Serum eotaxin (P < .01), IL-1RA (P < .01), monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1) (P<.01), and performance on 2 neurocognitive (Trail Making) tests (P<.01 and P = .02, respectively) were found to be inversely associated with fatigue before chemotherapy but not afterward, whereas daily energy expenditure, serum MCP-1, and serum macrophage inflammatory protein 1a (MIP-1a) were found to be associated with fatigue after receipt of chemotherapy but not before (P<.01 for each). The association between energy expenditure and fatigue was detectable only if an actively athletic subject with outlier values of energy expenditure was excluded. CONCLUSIONS Serum IL-12 merits confirmatory testing as an objective, treatment-independent measure of fatigue in patients with early-stage breast cancer. Cancer 2017;123:1810–1816. © 2017 The Authors. Cancer published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of American Cancer Society. This is an open access article under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivs License, which permits use and distribution in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited, the use is non-commercial and no modifications or adaptations are made.
Roosevelt's Great Defeat: The Court Packing Fight of 1937

Throughout the history of the United States, the president has often quarreled with the Supreme Court over matters of policy and the Constitution, but rarely has a president tried to overhaul the Court to accomplish his goals. At the start of Franklin Delano Roosevelt's second administration in 1937, the nation faced a crisis as the President attempted to change the Court that had obstructed his attempts to alleviate the effects of the Great Depression. While Roosevelt was understandably frustrated with the Supreme Court's thwarting of his policies, the actions he took were too drastic to be tolerated by the majority of the population. While many felt that the Supreme Court was getting in the way of the New Deal legislation, few felt that the President had the right to attempt to change it. Opposition to this plan extended from Washington, D.C., to the rural United States as people realized its implications. The fact that Roosevelt was popular and had just won a huge victory in the 1936 presidential election did not necessarily mean that he had the support of the public in such an unprecedented move as to pack the United States Supreme Court. As Roosevelt stubbornly pursued his plan, the reactions of the people and changes in the policy of the Court made it impossible for Roosevelt to win. The events of 1937 eventually handed Roosevelt the greatest defeat he had as President.
Access to Medical and Mental Health Services Across the HIV Care Continuum Among Young Transgender Women: A Qualitative Study

Purpose: (1) To describe psychosocial, medical, and mental health outcomes of young transgender women (YTW) living with or at risk for HIV infection and (2) to explore barriers and facilitators to medical and mental health services across the HIV care continuum. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional observational study of YTW aged 16-24 years who were at risk for contracting or living with HIV. Participants were recruited from an adolescent HIV clinic and local community-based organizations that serve YTW. The single study visit included: a computer-assisted self-interview of demographics, medical and mental health measures, a qualitative semi-structured interview, optional rapid HIV testing for HIV-negative/status-unknown participants, and a chart review to determine rates of antiretroviral therapy (ART) prescription and viral suppression among HIV+ participants. Descriptive statistics were used for quantitative data, and a modified-grounded theory approach was used for qualitative analysis. Results: Participants (n=25) had a mean age of 21.2 years; the majority were non-white (76%), had less than a college education (76%), were unemployed (52%), and had an income <$12,000/year (80%). More than one-third were unstably housed (36%) and uninsured (36%), and 28% reported having transactional sex. A majority had taken gender-affirming hormones (72%), but 17% obtained them from a source other than their doctor. Among HIV+ participants (n=8), 50% were prescribed ART and all four participants achieved viral suppression. Qualitative themes included lack of respect for or misunderstanding of gender identity, mismatch of mental health needs with available provider skills, challenges in finding HIV prevention services during adolescence or when transitioning to adult care, and importance of workforce diversity, including representation of transgender women in care teams. Conclusion: This study identified significant unmet mental health needs and several barriers and facilitators to engaging in healthcare for YTW across the HIV care continuum. Our data suggest an urgent need for provider competency training in gender-affirming care and integration of appropriate mental health and gender-affirming treatment with HIV prevention and treatment services for this population.
Truth discovery for spatio-temporal events from crowdsourced data

One of the greatest challenges in spatial crowdsourcing is determining the veracity of reports from multiple users about a particular event or phenomenon. In this paper, we address the difficulties of truth discovery in spatio-temporal tasks and present a new method based on recursive Bayesian estimation (BE) from multiple reports of users. Our method incorporates a reliability model for users, which improves as more reports arrive while increasing the accuracy of the model in labeling the state of the event. The model is further improved by Kalman estimation (BE+KE) that models the spatio-temporal correlations of the events and predicts the next state of an event and is corrected when new reports arrive. The methods are tested in a simulated environment, as well as using real-world data. Experimental results show that our methods are adaptable to the available data, can incorporate previous beliefs, and outperform existing truth discovery methods of spatio-temporal events.
Neuroepigenetics of Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder.

Abstract While diagnosis of PTSD is based on behavioral symptom clusters that are most directly associated with brain function, epigenetic studies of PTSD in humans to date have been limited to peripheral tissues. Animal models of PTSD have been key for understanding the epigenetic alterations in the brain most directly relevant to endophenotypes of PTSD, in particular those pertaining to fear memory and stress response. This chapter provides an overview of neuroepigenetic studies based on animal models of PTSD, with an emphasis on the effect of stress on fear memory. Where relevant, we also describe human-based studies with relevance to neuroepigenetic insights gleaned from animal work and suggest promising directions for future studies of PTSD neuroepigenetics in living humans that combine peripheral epigenetic measures with measures of central nervous system activity, structure and function.
Herbal supplement use among patients in a rural health system

Background: The use of herbal supplements is common but has not been adequately documented in a rural health system. Methods: A questionnaire measuring the use of herbal supplements, disclosure to a physician, and discussion with a physician was distributed to 400 adult patients in three rural offices. A separate survey was distributed to 24 physicians in these three practices. Results: Two hundred ninety-three of 400 patient questionnaires (74%) and 18 of 22 physician questionnaires (75%) were returned and analyzed. Twenty percent of patients used herbal supplements and 59% of these disclosed this use to their physicians. Only half of the doctors returning the survey regularly asked their patients about herbal use and most admitted a lack of knowledge about herbals. Conclusion: The use of herbal products may be less common in a rural health system than in other practice settings. Patients would disclose the use of herbal supplements to physicians more often if they were asked about such consumption and physician knowledge about the products were improved.
Design and Self-Organization

The design thesis, the claim that a designer in some form exists, has been defended in a variety of ways by means of the teleological argument. The Intelligent Design movement has brought the argument to contemporary usage. This incarnation of the teleological argument, however, is not susceptible to the same criticisms as its previous formulations. After distinguishing the Intelligent Design movement from its predecessors, I consider the implications that self-organizing systems have for the design thesis. Although I maintain that self-organizing systems pose a problem for the design thesis, I offer suggestions for strengthening the methodological approach to the design argument.
Satellite gravimetry and mass transport in the earth system

Abstract Since launched in March 2002, the Gravity Recovery and Climate Experiment (GRACE) satellite gravity mission has brought a new era to the studies of large-scale mass transport and redistribution within different components of the Earth system, including the atmosphere, hydrosphere, ocean, cryosphere, and solid Earth, and greatly improved our understanding of the Earth climate system and solid Earth geophysics. This paper provides a comprehensive review of GRACE satellite gravimetry and its geophysical applications in monitoring and quantifying water mass changes in various components of the global water cycle, ice mass balance of polar ice sheets and mountain glaciers, global sea level change, and mass redistribution in solid Earth. We also discuss in detail different GRACE data products (e.g., standard spherical harmonic and mascon solutions), commonly used GRACE data post-processing methods, major challenges in using different GRACE data and how to correctly address those challenges.
Gas chromatography system constant database over an extended temperature range for nine open-tubular columns

Abstract The solvation parameter model is used to characterize the retention properties of poly(octylmethylsiloxane), poly(dimethyldiphenylsiloxane), silphenylene-dimethylsiloxane copolymer, poly(dimethylmethyltrifluoropropylsiloxane), poly(3-cyanopropylphenyldimethylsiloxane), and poly(ethylene glycol) (SPB-Octyl, HP-5, Rxi-17, Rxi-5Sil MS, Rtx-OPP, DB-1701, DB-225, Rtx-440 and HP-INNOWAX) stationary phases over an extended temperature range from 60 °C to close to the maximum column operating temperature. System maps constructed from the system constant database are used to evaluate the influence of temperature on the contribution of intermolecular interactions to differences in selectivity. None of the stationary phases are hydrogen-bond acids. Increasing temperature reduces the contribution from cavity formation/dispersion, dipole-type interactions and hydrogen-bond basicity in a stationary phase specific manner with their preservation to the highest temperature studied for each column. Electron lone pair interactions are generally repulsive at lower temperatures becoming attractive and leading to an increase in retention at higher temperatures.
Do oxidized zirconium heads decrease tribocorrosion in total hip arthroplasty? A study of retrieved components.

Aims The aim of this study was to evaluate fretting and corrosion in retrieved oxidized zirconium (OxZr; OXINIUM, Smith & Nephew, Memphis, Tennessee) femoral heads and compare the results with thos...
Change, predictors and correlates of weight- and health-related quality of life in adolescents 2-years following bariatric surgery.

Background/objectives Weight-related quality of life (WRQOL) and generic health-related quality of life (HRQOL) have been identified as important patient-reported outcomes for obesity treatment and outcome research. This study evaluated patterns of WRQOL and HRQOL outcomes for adolescents at 24-months post-bariatric surgery relative to a nonsurgical comparator sample of youth with severe obesity, and examined potential weight-based (e.g., BMI, weight dissatisfaction) and psychosocial predictors and correlates of these outcomes. Subjects/methods Multi-site data from 139 adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery (Mage = 16.9; 79.9% female, 66.2% White; MBody Mass Index [BMI] = 51.5 kg/m2) and 83 comparators (Mage = 16.1; 81.9 % female, 54.2% White; MBMI = 46.9 kg/m2) were collected at pre-surgery/baseline, 6-, 12-, and 24-months post-surgery/baseline with high participation rates across time points (>85%). Self-reports with standardized measures of WRQOL/HRQOL as well as predictors/covariates (e.g., weight dissatisfaction, social support, peer victimization, family dysfunction, loss of control eating, self-worth, and internalizing symptoms) were obtained. Growth curve models using structural equation modeling examined WRQOL/HRQOL over time and linear regressions examined predictors and correlates of WRQOL/HRQOL outcomes. Results Significant improvement in WRQOL and Physical HRQOL, particularly in the first postoperative year with a leveling off subsequently, was found for the surgical group relative to comparators, but with no significant Mental HRQOL change. At 24 months, the surgical group had significantly greater WRQOL/HRQOL across most subscales. Within the surgical group at 24 months, weight-based variables were significantly associated with WRQOL and Physical HRQOL, but not Mental HRQOL. Mental HRQOL was associated with greater internalizing symptoms and loss of control eating. Conclusions For adolescents undergoing bariatric surgery, most clinically meaningful changes in WRQOL and Physical HRQOL occurred early postoperatively, with weight-based variables as the primary drivers of 24-month levels. In contrast, expectations for Mental HRQOL improvement following surgery should be tempered, with 24-month levels significantly associated with psychosocial rather than weight-based correlates.
Maintaining systems with heterogeneous spare parts

We consider the problem of optimally maintaining a stochastically degrading, single‐unit system using heterogeneous spares of varying quality. The system's failures are unannounced; therefore, it is inspected periodically to determine its status (functioning or failed). The system continues in operation until it is either preventively or correctively maintained. The available maintenance options include perfect repair, which restores the system to an as‐good‐as‐new condition, and replacement with a randomly selected unit from the supply of heterogeneous spares. The objective is to minimize the total expected discounted maintenance costs over an infinite time horizon. We formulate the problem using a mixed observability Markov decision process (MOMDP) model in which the system's age is observable but its quality must be inferred. We show, under suitable conditions, the monotonicity of the optimal value function in the belief about the system quality and establish conditions under which finite preventive maintenance thresholds exist. A detailed computational study reveals that the optimal policy encourages exploration when the system's quality is uncertain; the policy is more exploitive when the quality is highly certain. The study also demonstrates that substantial cost savings are achieved by utilizing our MOMDP‐based method as compared to more naive methods of accounting for heterogeneous spares.
Characterizing the refractive index auto-correlation function from whole cells using interferometric microscopy (Conference Presentation)

The hyperspectral, interferometric microscopy technique, PWS has demonstrated the ability to measure variance in the nanoscale refractive index (Σ) of chromatin – the macromolecular assembly containing most of a cell’s genetic material. However, the question arises: how does Σ relate to the physical distribution of mass in chromatin, and specifically the organization of chromatin packing. We developed an analytical framework to relate Σ to the mass-density autocorrelation function – which can fully describe the distribution of mass and is characterized by D. This relationship was validated numerically using the rigorous modelling technique FDTD and experimentally with PWS and Chromatin Electron Microscopy (ChromEM).
Bioorthogonal click chemistries enable simultaneous spatial patterning of multiple proteins to probe synergistic protein effects on fibroblast function.

Abstract Three biorthogonal click reactions, a photoinitiated thiol-yne reaction, an azide-alkyne cycloaddition, and a methyltetrazine-transcyclooctene Diels Alder, were used to independently control the presentation of several bioactive proteins to valvular interstitial cells (VICs) in hydrogel scaffolds. Tethered fibroblast growth factor (FGF-2) was found to suppress myofibroblast activation (from 48 ± 7% to 17 ± 6%) and promote proliferation (from 10 ± 2% to 54 ± 3%) at a concentration of 10 ng/mL. In the presence of the pro-fibrotic cytokine transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β1), FGF-2 could protect the VIC fibroblast phenotype, even at much higher concentrations of TGF-β1 than that of FGF-2. With respect to the fibrocalcific VIC phenotype, TGF-β1 and bone-morphogenic protein-2 (BMP-2) were found to synergistically promote calcific nodule formation (a five-fold increase in nodules compared to TGF-β1 or BMP-2 alone). Exploiting the orthogonal click reactions, FGF-2, TGF-β1 and BMP-2 combinations were patterned into distinct regions on a hydrogel to control VIC activation and nodule formation. Cellular crosstalk between separate regions of the same scaffold was affected by the size of each region as well as the interfacial area between different regions. Collectively, these results demonstrate the versatility and robustness of a photoinitiated thiol-yne reaction to template pendant functionalities that allow for the bioconjugation of multiple proteins. This approach maintains protein bioactivity, providing an in vitro platform capable of achieving a better understanding of the complex mechanisms involved in tissue fibrosis.
A community for Black chemists.

The #ScienceTwitter community was recently treated to a virtual campaign under the hashtags #BlackInChem and #BlackChemistsWeek. This event highlighted past and present contributions from Black people in the field and offered unique opportunities for networking, mentorship, and recognition, say Abraham Beyene and Priera Panescu.
State-of-the-Practice Review on the Use of Flocculants for Construction Stormwater Management in the United States:

Construction stormwater practices have a vital role in protecting downstream water bodies from runoff that is typically characterized with large amounts of sediment and suspended solids. Most sedim...
Human brain region-specific variably methylated regions are enriched for heritability of distinct neuropsychiatric traits

DNA methylation dynamics in the brain are associated with normal development and neuropsychiatric disease and differ across functionally distinct brain regions. Previous studies of genome-wide methylation differences among human brain regions focus on limited numbers of individuals and one to two brain regions. Using GTEx samples, we generate a resource of DNA methylation in purified neuronal nuclei from 8 brain regions as well as lung and thyroid tissues from 12 to 23 donors. We identify differentially methylated regions between brain regions among neuronal nuclei in both CpG (181,146) and non-CpG (264,868) contexts, few of which were unique to a single pairwise comparison. This significantly expands the knowledge of differential methylation across the brain by 10-fold. In addition, we present the first differential methylation analysis among neuronal nuclei from basal ganglia tissues and identify unique CpG differentially methylated regions, many associated with ion transport. We also identify 81,130 regions of variably CpG methylated regions, i.e., variable methylation among individuals in the same brain region, which are enriched in regulatory regions and in CpG differentially methylated regions. Many variably methylated regions are unique to a specific brain region, with only 202 common across all brain regions, as well as lung and thyroid. Variably methylated regions identified in the amygdala, anterior cingulate cortex, and hippocampus are enriched for heritability of schizophrenia. These data suggest that epigenetic variation in these particular human brain regions could be associated with the risk for this neuropsychiatric disorder.
Synaptic Mechanisms Possibly Concerned in Learning and Memory (cf. Eccles, 1966b, 1966c)

The word “memory” is a term now being used for a very wide range of phenomena that involve the storage of information and the retrieval or read-out of this information. Hence we have genetic memory, as, for example, may be illustrated by the statement of Eigen (1964) that “DNA for instance has memory.” Also the term is used in relationship to immunology (immunological memory). Such diversity of usage means that the term memory as such needs specification. I shall adhere to the original restricted sense, and associate memory with that property of the central nervous system whereby it is effective both in the storage and retrieval of information. This property has been termed psychic memory, and may be considered to have two components, learning and remembering, corresponding to storage and retrieval of information.
Evaluation of Cooling Conditions for a High Heat Flux Testing Facility Based on Plasma-Arc Lamps

The new Irradiated Material Target Station (IMTS) facility for fusion materials at Oak Ridge National Laboratory (ORNL) uses an infrared plasma-arc lamp (PAL) to deliver incident heat fluxes as high as 27 MW/m2. The facility is being used to test irradiated plasma-facing component materials as part of the joint US-Japan PHENIX program. The irradiated samples are to be mounted on molybdenum sample holders attached to a water-cooled copper rod. Depending on the size and geometry of samples, several sample holders and copper rod configurations have been fabricated and tested. As a part of the effort to design sample holders compatible with the high heat flux (HHF) testing to be conducted at the IMTS facility, numerical simulations have been performed for two different water-cooled sample holder designs using the ANSYS FLUENT 14.0 commercial computational fluid dynamics (CFD) software package. The primary objective of this work is to evaluate the cooling capability of different sample holder designs, i.e. to estimate their maximum allowable incident heat flux values. 2D axisymmetric numerical simulations are performed using the realizable k-e turbulence model and the RPI nucleate boiling model within ANSYS FLUENT 14.0. The results of the numerical model were compared against the experimental data formore » two sample holder designs tested in the IMTS facility. The model has been used to parametrically evaluate the effect of various operational parameters on the predicted temperature distributions. The results were used to identify the limiting parameter for safe operation of the two sample holders and the associated peak heat flux limits. The results of this investigation will help guide the development of new sample holder designs.« less
Carbonic Anhydrase from Parsley Leaves

Abstract Parsley carbonic anhydrase (EC 4.2.1.1) is a powerful catalyst for the reversible hydration of carbon dioxide, with a maximum catalytic constant of approximately 105 per sec at 25°. It comprises approximately 1% of the total protein in extracts of parsley leaves. The enzyme is purified by a procedure involving fractionation with ammonium sulfate, chromatography on diethylaminoethyl cellulose, concentration by ultrafiltration, and chromatography on agarose. Its sedimentation coefficient, s20,w0, is 8.8 S. Sedimentation equilibrium and gel filtration studies in aqueous buffer indicate a molecular weight near 180,000. In 6 m guanidine hydrochloride, or on electrophoresis on polyacrylamide gel in the presence of dodecyl sulfate, the molecular weight is approximately 29,000. This suggests that 6, possibly identical, subunits are present. Zinc analysis indicates the presence of 1 zinc atom per 29,000 molecular weight subunit. Attempts to remove the zinc without denaturing the protein were unsuccessful. The amino acid composition is somewhat similar to that of the mammalian carbonic anhydrases, although the parsley enzyme contains much more cysteine, more phenylalanine and methionine, and less tryptophan and histidine, than the mammalian enzymes. Optical rotatory dispersion and circular dichroism data suggest that the parsley enzyme may contain about 30% helix. The catalytic constant of the parsley carbonic anhydrase for carbon dioxide hydration, like that of the mammalian carbonic anhydrases, increases with increasing pH in the range from pH 6.5 to 7.5. The parsley enzyme differs from the mammalian enzymes, however, in that the Michaelis constant increases with increasing pH. It also differs from them in failing to catalyze the hydrolysis of p-and o-nitrophenyl acetates and in being reversibly inhibited by p-chloromercuribenzoate. Imidazole buffers also act as inhibitors.
Structure and thermoelectric properties of Ba6Ge(25-x), Ba6Ge23Sn2, and Ba6Ge22In3: Zintl phases with a chiral clathrate structure

Abstract A single phase of Ba 6 Ge 25− x ( x ∼1) was obtained from a direct element combination reaction in a sealed graphite tube at 830°C. Its structure was determined by single-crystal X-ray diffraction methods. Ba 6 Ge 25− x adopts the chiral cubic space group P 4 1 32 (No. 213) with dimensions of a =14.5483(2) A and Z =4. The structure consists of helical chains of Ba atom-centered pentagonal dodecahedra, Ba@Ge 20 , and zeolite-like cages formed by those chains. There are vacancies distributed over the Ge sites giving a composition of Ba 6 Ge 24 , in which charge balance according to the Zintl formalism is retained. The compound therefore satisfies the classical Zintl concept. Polycrystalline ingots of Ba 6 Ge 25− x showed an electrical conductivity of 2000 S/cm and a Seebeck coefficient of −18 μV/K at room temperature. An anomalous broad transition in the electrical conductivity and Seebeck coefficient was observed at ∼100 K. Ba 6 Ge 23.32 Sn 1.68 and Ba 6 Ge 21.93 In 3.07 as ternary derivatives of Ba 6 Ge 25− x were also synthesized and their structural and physical properties compared with those of Ba 6 Ge 25− x .
Buffer capacities of human blood and plasma.

Normal values for buffer capacity of blood and plasma of a number of normal subjects over various intervals between pH 7.5 and 6.1 were determined. The buffer capacities of blood and plasma were 38.5 and 16.1 mEq/L/pH respectively at physiologic pH values. Normal blood and plasma buffer capacities were relatively constant from pH 7.4-6.6. The buffer capacity of plasma proteins was found to be greater than that of bicarbonate at physiologic pH range. Variations of buffer capacity caused by certain disease processes are reported and discussed.
Using TED Talks to Inspire Thoughtful Practice

How can teacher educators provide relevant and important content in an educational environment that is rapidly evolving? TED.com is a website that provides content that meets these criteria in its ...
A Dimensional Classification of Autism Spectrum Disorder by Social Communication Domains

ABSTRACT Objective To investigate whether "social communication" could be used to assess severity of symptoms in autism spectrum disorder. Social communication refers to the communication of cognitive and emotional information through facial expression, gesture, and prosody and through implicit understanding of pragmatics and of theory of mind. Method Subjects were evaluated by raters using the Autism Diagnostic interview-Revised and either the Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule or the Pre-Linguistic Autism Diagnostic Observation Schedule. Two investigators independently diagnosed autism, Asperger's disorder, or pervasive developmental disorder-not otherwise specified in 63 subjects. Items from the Autism Diagnostic Interview-Revised that were judged to represent social communication behaviors were factor-analyzed. Results Three factors were identified: affective reciprocity, joint attention, and theory of mind. Comparing this new classification approach to DSM-IV led to suggestions for possible changes in the latter: (1) Vocabulary and grammar deficiencies in autistic persons should be coded under developmental language disorder. (2) The diagnosis of Asperger's disorder may not be needed. (3) Requiring that all persons with autism spectrum disorder have a symptom from the "restrictive, repetitive, and stereotypic" list may need to be reconsidered. Conclusions The DSM-IV category of pervasive developmental disorder may be ideal for diagnosing "classic" autism, but it may be inadequate for diagnosing less severe forms of the disorder. J. Am. Acad. Child Adolesc. Psychiatry, 1998, 37(3):271–277.
Unreal: hostile expectations from social gameplay:

This article situates the general aggression model within the social structure of gameplay. Testing a mediated model of play, group gaming is examined in order to demonstrate how certain gameplay situations can promote hostile expectation bias or the tendency to predict how others would think, feel and act aggressively during social conflict. Demonstrating the casual structure inherent within complex gameplay, this study presents a needed step forward in the gaming literature. The mediated model presented departs from the typically examined direct effect model. Further, completing the model, this study suggests that when state hostility is heightened, hostile expectation bias increases.
Qualitative aspects of mother- and father-infant attachments

Thirty-two infants were observed twice in the Ainsworth Strange Situation procedure, once with their mothers and once with their fathers. Following the emphasis and procedures described by Ainsworth, the analysis focussed on the nature of the infants' responses to separation and reunion. Raters then assessed the “security” of the infants' attachments to their mothers and fathers. Sixteen of the infants were “securely attached” to both parents, and seven had insecure relationships to both. Knowledge of the security of either parent-child relationship facilitated prediction (p
Splenic rupture as a consequence of giant paraesophageal hernia

Elective surgical repair of "giant" paraesophageal hernias is recommended to prevent the potential complications of gastric volvulus, obstruction, and ischemic perforation. We report the unusual complication of splenic capsular laceration and hemorrhagic shock following forceful retching by a patient with an incarcerated paraesophageal hernia.
A rationale for the sinking-fund provision in a quasicompetitive corporate-bond market

Abstract This article studies the effect of the sinking fund on the value of a corporate bond under each of three market regimes, and considers whether under such regimes there exists a rationale for its widespread use. Under a set of conditions that includes a perfect capital market, the sinking fund has an unambiguous negative effect on the value of a bond, but there is no rationale for its existence. When agency costs are added, there is a rationale for the sinking fund, but it is not distinct. However, a distinct rationale for the sinking fund develops in a quasicompetitive market that involves two imperfections: 1) agency costs, and 2) the potential for accumulation of an issue by a single investor. Accumulation potential neutralizes shareholders' incentives to expropriate wealth from bondholders in states in which the standard call option is ineffective. The analysis also has implications for the efficient functioning of the corporate-bond market.
Physiological Modification of Immediate Ischemia due to Experimental Middle Cerebral Occlusion-Its Relevance to Cerebral Infarction

In cats subjected to middle cerebral artery occlusion, the resulting ischemia was unaffected by the blood pressure at the time of occlusion when arterial PCOCO2 was normal or low. At normal and elevated blood pressures, hypercapnia established prior to occlusion minimized the ischemia and hypocapnia aggravated it. Re-occlusion during postischemic reactive hyperemia resulted in ischemia of the same severity as during the initial occlusion, provided PCOCO2 and blood pressure were not changed. These observations suggest that a general determinant of the severity of immediate ischemia in this preparation is the competence of the collateral circulation. This conclusion suggests that proper analysis of the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction requires consideration of immediate ischemia separately from the subsequent course of the ischemic lesion. There are so many variables bearing on the pathogenesis of cerebral infarction that a rational therapy of acute stroke can only be visualized when there is knowledge o...
An externally validated model for predicting long-term survival after exercise treadmill testing in patients with suspected coronary artery disease and a normal electrocardiogram.

In a large prospective cohort study, Lauer and colleagues developed a post–treadmill test prediction rule to determine mortality in adults with normal electrocardiograms and suspected coronary arte...
Cancer Chemoprevention by Green Tea Components

Since the treatment of cancer is often ineffective once the tumor is diagnosed, considerable efforts have been made in recent years to develop chemopreventive agents, i.e., agents that would prevent cancers from developing in the first place.1 Cancer chemoprevention therefore has become an important emerging area of research that, in addition to providing a practical approach to identifying potentially useful inhibitors of cancer development, also affords opportunities to study the mechanisms of carcinogenesis.2,3 It is appreciated that extrinsic factors such as environmental pollutants and lifestyle play major roles in the development of some forms of human malignancies.4 It is also becoming clear that diet can influence the risk of developing cancer.4 Our food contains not only mutagens and carcinogens, but also a variety of chemicals that are antimutagenic in bacterial test systems and that block carcinogenesis in animal tumor bioassay systems.4 For these reasons, changes in dietary habits with the routine intake of more cancer chemopreventive agents, specifically those which have shown preventive effects in a wide range of animal tumor bioassay systems, are an attractive approach for cancer prevention. Experimental studies in animal tumor models have shown that cancer can be prevented by administration of a variety of chemical compounds, some of which are naturally occurring whereas others are synthetic.2
Biomolecules in hydrothermal systems: Calculation of the standard molal thermodynamic properties of nucleic-acid bases, nucleosides, and nucleotides at elevated temperatures and pressures

Abstract Calculation of the thermodynamic properties of biomolecules at high temperatures and pressures is fundamental to understanding the biogeochemistry of hydrothermal systems. Ample evidence indicates that hyperthermophilic microbes interact chemically with their mineralogical environment in these systems. Nevertheless, little is known about the thermodynamic properties of the biomolecules involved in such processes. Recent advances in theoretical biogeochemistry make it possible to calculate these properties using the limited experimental data available in the literature, together with correlation and group additivity algorithms, reference model compounds, and the revised HKF equations of state. This approach permits calculation of the standard molal thermodynamic properties of the 120 common protonated and deprotonated nucleotides and their constituent nucleic-acid bases and nucleosides as a function of temperature and pressure. The requisite equations of state parameters can be calculated from experimental standard molal heat capacities, volumes, and compressibilities reported in the literature for nucleic-acid bases and nucleosides. Because no calorimetric or densimetric data are available for the nucleotides, experimental heats of reaction taken from the literature were used together with correlation and group additivity algorithms to generate provisional values of the corresponding equations of state parameters for the nucleotides. The thermodynamic properties and revised HKF equations of state parameters generated in the present study can be used to carry out comprehensive mass transfer and Gibbs energy calculations to describe and quantify the chemical interaction of minerals and microbes in hydrothermal systems.
Special Issue Introduction: Defining The Domain Of Workplace Diversity Scholarship

Workplace diversity crystallized as a management sub-field only when members of historically excluded groups became serious contenders for power positions in North American organizations. This article asserts power/dominance relations between identity groups as a central factor driving diversity dynamics in organizations and questions the predominance of the trait model, which locates the fundamental mechanisms driving diversity dynamics within individuals and ignores contextual factors, including power. The author argues that it is important to draw a distinction between diversity scholarship and the individual differences tradition in organizational studies in order to retain a central focus on power relations among identity groups and avoid diluting the diversity construct to the point that any group composed of non-identical individuals becomes diverse by definition.
Reply to ''Further comments on atomic central-potential models''

We indicate a weakness in the Hartree-Fock-Slater-Latter (HFSL) potential at values of r near the point where the Latter hydrogen-potential addition is made. The GSZ (Green-Sellin-Zachor) potential does not have this weakness and, consequently, can yield energy eigenvalues which are closer to experimental energy levels than are the HFSL energy eigenvalues. We attempt to show that the examples used in Manson and Purcell's Comment fail to demonstrate that the HFSL potential is more accurate than the GSZ potential. We suggest possible avenues along which further development of atomic independent-particle models might proceed.
Copper in plasma amine oxidase.

CRYSTALLINE beef plasma amine oxidase has been characterized as a cupric-pyridoxal phosphate enzyme1–4. However, Gorkin has reported that the enzyme is a zinc protein and that there is a direct proportionality between zinc content and specific activity5. Furthermore, it was reported that zinc can be removed by ethylenediamine tetraacetic acid and that the enzyme can be reactivated by zinc.