cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Technology interference in the parenting of young children: Implications for mothers’ perceptions of coparenting

Abstract Technology devices and their characteristics have become more pervasive and enticing. The use of these new devices is common, and interruptions due to these devices are likely. This study examines the frequency of technology interference in (a) coparenting relationships—the relationship between parents as they parent their children together—during early infancy/childhood and in (b) various parenting domains (bedtime, mealtime, etc.), as well as (c) associations between technology interference and perceptions of coparenting quality as reported by 203 married/cohabiting mothers. Many mothers perceived that technology interrupted coparenting interactions on occasion, especially during unstructured parenting such as playtime. Mothers rating more interference reported worse coparenting, relationship satisfaction, and depressive symptoms. Technology interference predicted coparenting even after controlling for relationship satisfaction and depressive symptoms. Technology interference likely decreases coordination between parents, leaving some mothers feeling frustrated. Parents may be advised to critically examine and potentially regulate technology use during family interactions.
How and Why Congress Helped OTC Dealer Banks Create Derivatives’ Systemic Risk

The cost of systemic risk in the over-the-counter (OTC) derivatives market is described and estimated. Modern portfolio theory (MPT), applied to OTC derivatives, predicts this cost, which has been growing since 1970. This cost grew because Congress blocked MPT’s predicted market forces. Without Congressional intervention, derivatives dealers would either have held dramatically smaller portfolios or made OTC derivatives negotiable. We estimate the global market has reached an un-booked negative market value, the implied capital cost of derivatives’ credit risk, substantially in excess of $250 billion today. At the banking lobby’s behest, Congress serially altered the bankruptcy code, transferring derivatives’ implied credit risk from derivatives dealers to others. However, the burden of the transferred credit risk was not reassigned. Thus the risk is not accounted for and not supported by bank capital. Worse, since derivatives are credit-riskless for derivatives dealers, these dealers create more derivatives than if they bore the cost, creating systemic risk.This risk, and the resulting changes in bankruptcy code, are unnecessary. If the dealer community were to modify the structure of OTC derivative instruments, derivatives’ credit risk would be dramatically reduced. Without Congress’ intervention, this might have happened long ago.The article is organized as follows. The introduction summarizes the article. The second section describes how OTC derivatives create temporary excess credit risk. The third section describes government intervention in this market and the resulting permanent systemic risk. Section four estimates the current size of systemic risk. The final section concludes.
Egg Activation at Fertilization.

Fertilization is the union of gametes to initiate development of a new individual. The female gamete is formed during oogenesis. The process begins when, in the early embryo, primordial germ cells arise and subsequently colonize the genital ridges. They differentiate into oogonia, start meiosis, and become primary oocytes. The cell cycle of the primary oocytes then becomes arrested in mid-meiosis for an extended period of time. Prior to ovulation the oocytes undergo a growth phase and their sizes increase significantly. A hormonal cue then triggers oocyte maturation that involves the resumption of meiosis, the completion of the first meiotic division, and, as a result, the reduction in the diploid chromosome number. The cell cycle then stops again; in vertebrates this arrest occurs at the metaphase stage of the second meiotic division. Meiosis resumes at fertilization, when the sperm activates the egg, i.e., it causes a series of changes that are required for the initiation of embryo development. This is achieved by triggering an elevation in the egg’s intracellular free calcium concentration. In response, the fertilized egg completes meiosis and enters the first embryonic cell cycle.
Ionic effects on microalgae harvest via microalgae-fungi co-pelletization

Abstract Microalgae harvesting is a difficult and costly unit operation, hampering commercial microalgae based processes. Various innovative approaches have been under research investigations. Algae harvesting using microalgae/fungi co-pelletization where microalgae cells are attracted to filamentous fungus and form co-pellets during their co-culture has been proved to be an innovative approach that might be both cost effective and sustainable. Yet, the mechanism behind the co-pelletization based algae harvesting is still not known. Understanding its mechanism will significantly facilitate future developments to decrease the processing cost for generating biofuel and other microalgae based bio-products. Considering that the ionic conditions greatly affect the flocculation performance of microalgae cells, studies were conducted to compare the co-pelletization performance at different pH values and ionic strengths in order to evaluate the surface charge changes at the different conditions tested. Zeta-potential measurements indicated that (1) both microalgae and fungi have low negative zeta-potentials regardless of the pH of the bulk solution ( 0.1 g/L) the surface charge of fungal and microalgae cells were less negative (>−5 mV for fungal hyphae and >−12 mV for microalgae) at higher concentrations of magnesium (0.5 g/L), which might have facilitated the attraction between them.
Allogeneic Hematopoietic Stem Cell Transplantation for Myelofibrosis.

Abstract Abstract 2283 Poster Board II-260 Background: Reduced intensity allogeneic transplantation was developed to harness graft versus leukemia immune effect to treat older patients and patients with comorbidities who are not eligible for conventional myeloablative transplant. Aim: To prospectively study the safety and efficacy of reduced intensity HCT in patients with myelofibrosis. Methods: Patients with intermediate or high risk MF were eligible if they had adequate organ function and at least 9/10 matched related or unrelated donor. Fifteen patients were conditioned with Fludarabine 40mg/m2 × 4 (days -5, -4, -3 -2) and Busulfan 130mg/m2 × 2 (day -3,-2). Thymoglobulin 2.5 mg/kg x 3 (day -3,-2 and 1) was additionally given to patients receiving unrelated donor graft. Because of high incidence of relapse, Busulfan dose was increased to a target AUC of 4000 μmol/L or a fixed dose of 100mg/m2 × 4 (days -5, -4, -3 -2) in 11 patients. Tacrolimus and mini Methotrexate were used as graft versus host disease prophylaxis. All patients received standard supportive care. Results: Between 6/2005 and 07/2009, 26 consecutive patients with myelofibrosis were treated. There were 13 males and 13 females with a median age of 58 (range 27-74). Seventeen patients had primary MF, 3 post PV MF and 6 Post ET MF. Based on Lille criteria, 14 patients had intermediate risk disease and 12 had high risk disease. Ten patients had splenectomy prior to transplant; remaining 16 patients had enlarged spleen at the time of transplant. Fourteen patients had mutated Jak 2. Median peripheral blood CD 34 count was 57/μl(range 1-3770/μl). Karyotype was abnormal in 11 patients and diploid in 15. Donors were matched siblings for 10 patients, matched unrelated for 12, and one antigen or allele mismatched unrelated for 4 patients. Stem cell source was marrow in 3 and peripheral blood in 23. All patients engrafted with a median time to neutrophil engraftment of 13 days (0-27) days) and a median time to platelet engraftment of 24 (0-105) days. Jak 2 positive patients achieved molecular remission post transplant with negative JaK 2. With a median follow up of 21 (1-43) months, 2 year overall and event free survival are 71% (SE 10%) and 46% (SE 11%), respectively. Cumulative incidence of non relapse mortality was 14% (SE 7%). Cumulative incidence of relapse was 39% (SE10%). Eight patients relapsed; 3 in blast phase and 5 in chronic phase. Four of these 8 are currently disease free after a second transplant. Including these 4 patients, 18 out of 26 patients are currently disease free. These include 10 of 11 patients treated with higher dose of busulfan compared with 8 of 15 patients treated with lower busulfan dose. Conclusion: RISCT induces molecular remission with very low non relapse mortality in older patients with myelofibrosis, but the relapse rate is high. Increasing the intensity of conditioning regimen may reduce the relapse risk and needs to be studied further. Download : Download high-res image (133KB) Download : Download full-size image Disclosures: No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Gut Instinct: Creating Scientific Theories with Online Learners

Learners worldwide collectively spend millions of hours per week testing their skills on assignments with known answers. Might some of this time fruitfully be spent posing and exploring novel questions? This paper investigates an approach for learners to contribute scientific ideas. The Gut Instinct system embodies this approach, hosting online learning materials and invites learners to collaboratively brainstorm potential influences on people's microbiome. A between-subjects experiment compared the performance of participants who engaged in just learning, just contributing, or a combination. Participants in the learning condition scored highest on a summative test. Participants in both the contribution and combined conditions generated novel, useful questions; there was not a significant difference between the two. Though participants in the combined condition both learned and contributed, this setting did not exhibit an additive benefit, such as better learning in the combined condition. These results highlight the promise and difficulty of double-bottom-line learning experiences.
Secrets on the Muhammadan Way: Transmission of the Esoteric Sciences in 18th Century Scholarly Networks

The eighteenth century witnessed a flurry of Islamic scholarly exchange, connecting North and West Africa to the Middle East and even India. The Islamic sciences transmitted through these networks have had lasting resonance in Africa, particularly in chains transmitting Ḥadīth and Sufi affiliations. Academics have been justly skeptical as to the actual content of these often short meetings between scholars, suggesting such meetings tell us little about shared scholarly understandings. Study of unpublished manuscripts detailing the acquisition of “secrets” ( asrār ), apparently widespread in these eighteenth-century networks, can add new understanding to the affinities between scholarly legacies emerging in the period. This paper considers such questions in relationship to Aḥmad al-Tijānī (d. 1815, Fez), the founder of the Tijāniyya Sufi order prominent in West Africa today.
Veterinary Drugs Residues: Anabolics

Some substances that produce anabolic effects have been approved for use in food-producing animals by a number of government regulatory authorities that are responsible for ensuring that veterinary products are safe and effective. At the same time, regulatory agencies in other countries have not permitted their use and/or have not allowed foods from animals treated with such drugs to be imported. These metabolic modifiers include somatotropins, beta-adrenergic agonists, and anabolic steroids. Although some of these drugs may be used for therapeutic and reproductive purposes, most disagreements among regulators and the public have centered on questions of safety related to uses that are intended to enhance food production such as increasing the rate of weight gain, improving feed efficiency, modifying muscle leanness, and/or increasing milk production.
Investigating the thermo-mechanical behavior of clutch facing materials using image processing techniques

The purpose of this paper is to investigate the thermo-mechanical behavior of clutch facing materials using image processing techniques. Infrared thermography and digital image correlation were used to analyze the mechanical behavior of clutch facing material under tensile loads. For specimens under tension loads, Infrared thermography clearly showed the thermo-elastic coupling as well as thermal dissipations due to the microcracking state of damaged clutch facing specimens. During an up to failure tensile test, localized thermal effects were observed at the macro-crack location before it appeared. Strain fields at the surface of specimens under tensile loadings were determined using the digital image correlation (DIC) technique. These experiments showed that the strain fields early became inhomogeneous. Strains concentrated in multiple localization zones which highlighted the role of the fibers in transmitting the internal forces.
Learning Assistance Support System for Disadvantaged Nursing Students

(1979). Learning Assistance Support System for Disadvantaged Nursing Students. Proceedings of the Annual Conference of the Western College Reading Association: Vol. 12, Proceedings of the Twelfth Annual Conference of the WCRA, pp. 128-132.
Global Financial Architecture

Resource flows, design and implementation of development policies, and the governance of the economy and institutions in the developing countries are significantly influenced by the operations and mechanisms of policy coordination at national and international levels. The previous chapters have examined, among other issues, the role of information, transaction costs and institutions in influencing financial development and economic growth of developing countries. Since global financial policies and institutions hold potential for significantly affecting the provision of resources for development finance, and thus for financial and economic development, it is important that we examine these policies and institutions. Also of interest in this chapter are the implications of currently popular economic paradigms. A brief background on the working features and an evaluation of the international financial architecture is provided below. The next two chapters are founded partly on the analysis given below.
Effects of Interspersing Briefer Mathematics Problems on Assignment Choice in Students with Learning Disabilities

Within- and between-series designs were combined and used to evaluate the effects of interspersing briefer math problems (i.e., one-digit by one-digit multiplication, 1 × 1) with more time-consuming problems (i.e., two-digit by one-digit multiplication, 2 × 1) on time allocation to one of two concurrent computer-delivered mathematics computation assignments in four high school students with specific learning disabilities in mathematics. The computer presented students with a choice of 2 × 1 problems with 1 × 1 problems interspersed every third problem (i.e., experimental assignment) or 2 × 1 problems without interspersal (i.e., control assignment). Visual and statistical analysis showed that students allocated a greater percentage of their time to the interspersal assignments. These results support previous research on the matching law and problem completion rates and suggest that students' preference for assignments can be improved through the interspersal technique. Discussion focuses on future research and applied educational implications for curricula construction and task sequencing.
Identification of 3D objects using correlation of holograms

A hologram is the 2D recording of the amplitude and phase of an object. Often the phase contains the information of the depth of a 3D object. In our previous work, the 3D mapping of different surfaces have been performed using digital holographic topography. For instance, multi-wavelength digital holography has been used to resolve deformations/depths which are in the order of several microns to centimeters. Now, 2D correlation has been extensively used as a pattern recognition tool to distinguish between different 2D objects. For 3D object correlation, a novel technique involving 2D correlation of holograms is proposed, enabling identification of the 3D object. As a proof-of-principle, in this work holograms of objects which have identical intensity features and different depth profiles are computer generated as well as optically recorded. Then 2D correlation is applied to distinguish the objects. An additional advantage of this method is that one can compare phase/depth information without performing additional numerical steps such as phase unwrapping.
Controlled Substance Use Among Psychiatric Patients in a Rural North Carolina Emergency Department.

Author(s): Gignac, Elizabeth; Dogbey, Godwin Y.; Capece, Gregory; McMichael, Benjamin; Aldrich, Julie; Brannan, Grace | Abstract: Introduction: Emergency department (ED) visits for mental health and substance use disorders have been on the rise, with substance use disorders frequently coexisting with mental health disorders. This study evaluated substances commonly used/abused by patients presenting to the ED of a rural, regional medical center with subsequent admission for mental health treatment in Robeson County, North Carolina. Methods: This retrospective, single-center study was approved by the Southeastern Health Institutional Review Board. We reviewed medical records of psychiatric patients presenting to the ED with ultimate admission to the inpatient psychiatric unit between January 1, 2016, and June 30, 2016. Frequencies of controlled substances testing positive on urine drug and alcohol screenings in admitted patients were obtained and analyzed. We also made ethnic and gender comparisons. Results: A total of 477 patients met inclusion criteria. The percentage of patients testing positive were as follows: tetrahydrocannabinol (THC) (40%); cocaine (28.7%); alcohol (15.1%); benzodiazepines (13%); opiates (9.6%); amphetamines (2.9%); barbiturates (2.3%); and methadone (0.8%). A relatively higher proportion of patients tested positive for THC than any other substance (p≤.0002). We found statistically significant differences for gender (p=.0004) and ethnicity (pl.0001) compositions regarding substance use/abuse. Conclusion: The majority of admitted psychiatric patients in this study tested positive for at least one controlled substance. The two substances that most often returned positive on the urine drug screen test in our sample were THC (marijuana) and cocaine. These findings may provide insight into concomitant substance abuse and psychiatric disorders, which could instigate public policy development of preventative health initiatives that explore the relationship between controlled substance use/abuse and mental health disorders in rural counties like Robeson County.
21.3 A Reconfigurable Bidirectional 28/37/39GHz Front-End Supporting MIMO-TDD, Carrier Aggregation TDD and FDD/Full-Duplex with Self-Interference Cancellation in Digital and Fully Connected Hybrid Beamformers

This paper presents a 28/37/39GHz front-end applicable to beyond-5G wireless networks. It features three key contributions. First, a fully connected (FC) transmitter architecture is introduced for hybrid beamforming (HBF); it is shown that the power efficiency of FC-HBF is superior to the conventional partially connected (PC) HBF for a given modulation and antenna geometry. Second, a compact/low-cost circuit concept is introduced that supports bi-directional T/R operation concurrently at 28 and 37/39GHz, thereby facilitating multi-antenna carrier-aggregation (CA) or MIMO TDD with high antenna count. Third, a built-in mechanism for dual-band, per antenna, self-interference cancellation (SIC) is introduced, thanks to the FC-HBF architecture. The front-end is applicable to FDD or full-duplex (FD) multi-antenna systems; such SIC is not available in PC-HBF’s. Also, the front-end is directly applicable to dual-band digital beamformers (DBF).
Gross Dissection Time Values of Pathologists' Assistants Using Standardized Metrics

OBJECTIVES A validated and objective method to quantify the gross dissection time of pathologists' assistants (PAs) does not exist. We propose a method to calculate standardized work units (dissection time values [DTVs]) to monitor PA productivity. METHODS The Current Procedural Terminology system specifies six levels of specimen complexity encompassing 176 unique specimen types. Using our institutional dictionary, we designated all specimen types into a priori five levels of complexity based on expected dissection time. We hypothesized that expected time could be matched prospectively with the actual measured dissection time for all specimens. Dissection time data were collected prospectively for 12,775 specimens at two tertiary academic medical centers, and work effort was converted to a numeric DTV equivalent (number of minutes to dissect single specimen/420 minutes in a working day). RESULTS For 44 of 155 specimen types, measured dissection time for the five "levels" was lower than expected dissection (P < .0001). Accordingly, those 44 specimen types were reclassified to a lower level. CONCLUSIONS A numeric standard of the work effort for dissection time for 155 specimen types was developed, validated, and then used prospectively to monitor grossing efficiency of PA workforce.
Error traps and culture of safety in anorectal malformations.

Abstract Introduction Attempting to decrease iatrogenic injuries and preventable harm, safety initiatives have become a priority in surgery. For adult hepatobiliary surgery, it has become common to study and consider “error traps” or common pitfalls that exist for laparoscopic cholecystectomy. 1 , 2 , 3 , 4 Extending this work to children, we have attempted to apply some of these initiatives by identifying error traps common to the care of patients born with anorectal malformations (ARM). Methods Five error traps were identified based on a retrospective analysis of operative records and radiographic studies from 398 re operative ARM cases performed by the authors. Once identified, the authors constructed a specific safety plan for each trap to promote a culture that will hopefully prevent ARM iatrogenic injuries. Results The identified error traps are: 1) creation of a colostomy too distal in the sigmoid colon, 2) inaccurate distal colostogram and definition of the patient's preoperative anatomy 3) absence of a Foley catheter during the repair of an ARM in males and the hazards of separating the anterior rectal wall from the genito-urinary (GU) tract 4) mismanagement of a post-operative anal stricture following an ARM reconstructive procedure 5) limited or unstructured follow up of these patients. For each of the five traps the authors present suggestions for their avoidance. Conclusion The repair on an anorectal malformation is an elective procedure and while not completely avoidable, there should be little tolerance for iatrogenic injury and preventable harm. A culture of safety should be followed, beginning with a recognition of the common error traps associated with ARM procedures.
Having to Be the One: Mothers Providing Home Care to Infants With Complex Cardiac Needs.

Background Early diagnosis of complex congenital heart disease and advances in surgical interventions have resulted in remarkable improvements in prognoses and hospital survival. Although studies have provided insight into children's experiences with complex congenital heart disease after hospitalization, few have addressed parents' experiences providing care for infants with complex congenital heart disease who are discharged home with complex care needs after surgical palliation. Objectives To describe the perceptions and lived experiences of mothers of infants who were discharged from the hospital after surgery for complex congenital heart disease but were then readmitted to the hospital. Methods Data collection and analysis for this pilot study were guided by grounded theory. From February through October 2017, interviews were conducted with 10 mothers about their experiences caring for their infants at home after surgery for complex congenital heart disease. Results Analyses led to development of 1 category, "having to be the one," which had 3 properties: having no choice but to provide complex care at home, handling unexpected roles, and grappling with the possibility of death. Conclusions The category of "having to be the one" highlighted mothers' experiences providing medicalized care at home to their infants after complex cardiac surgery while managing other responsibilities, such as employment, busy households, and parenting other school-age children. The role of the caregiver is vital but demanding. Mothers' caregiving at home may be enhanced by nursing interventions such as routine screening for infant distress plus assessment for alterations in family coping or relational challenges that threaten family function.
Automated Multi-Object Tracking for Autonomous Vehicle Control in Dynamically Changing Traffic

Public road traffic is rich in examples of dynamic objects suddenly appearing/disappearing in/from the Field of View (Fo V) of an autonomous ego vehicle, such as when target vehicles zoom out by accelerating from the ego vehicle or sensor detections deteriorate temporarily due to illumination changes and other environmental effects. Thus, the guidance and control system should capture the motion of moving obstacles by a perception and tracking module capable of track management features including but not limited to track initiation and termination. This paper presents such a module that executes multi-target tracking with the linear integrated probabilistic data association (IPDA) filter in conjunction with a model predictive control (MPC) scheme for path and reference speed tracking and obstacle avoidance. From the perception module, all the confirmed tracks are made available to an Interacting Multiple Model (IMM) subsystem which predicts the motion of target vehicles to constrain the optimization problem in the MPC. The paper includes illustrations of the proposed scheme with practical traffic scenarios, which show that the ego vehicle is able to autonomously react to random changes in the number and/or state of target vehicles as well as to occasional missed detections due to environmental effects.
Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies: An Introduction

The Indiana Journal of Global Legal Studies is a faculty-edited, peer reviewed interdisciplinary journal focusing on the intersections of global and domestic legal regimes, markets, politics, technologies, and cultures. "Globalization" means different things in different contexts, and we offer this journal as a forum for communication and exchange among the many research agendas that now involve this concept. In our view, "globalization" refers to complex, dynamic legal and social processes; it is not?or at least not necessarily?a synonym for "universality" or "homogeneity." Nor is "global" necessarily a synonym for "world-wide." Global processes can be intensely local or regional. They may result, for example, from economic or political forces that create markets for goods, capital, or labor that are beyond the control of any one nation-state. Similarly, global processes can be the result of problems such as ozone depletion, global warming or reductions in biodiversity that create issues transcending the boundaries of nation-states. Some of these transnational forces and issues generate transnational law and global legislation such as the Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer; however, different localities and different domestic legal regimes may and often do respond to such global forces in different ways. Domestic law?local, state, or federal?may thus be affected significantly by a variety of forces outside the control of any of the local decision-makers involved. Global forces may encourage new forms of economic and legal integration or harmonization across local legal and economic systems. On the other hand, such global forces may also trigger local, domestic reactions that deepen tensions between multinational and
CPU-GPU Collaborated Computation Models for Biological Sequence Alignment with Mirror-Based Work Load Balancing

Biological sequence alignment has been used in many application areas of computational biology and bioinformatics and both non-heuristic and heuristic algorithms have been developed and used. Although the high accuracy is guaranteed, non-heuristic approaches, such as Smith-Waterman algorithm, are not popularly used in the real world due to the quadratic time complexity. However, recent technological development on HPC systems made researchers propose a diversified acceleration approaches of the Smith-Waterman algorithm, including GPU based approaches. In this paper, we propose efficient CPU-GPU collaborated computation models for protein sequence alignment based on the Smith-Waterman algorithm to exploit the maximum efficiency on the heterogeneous system with multicore processor(s) and GPU(s). The proposed approach implements the full functionalities of the local sequence alignment, which are BLAST compatible, and uses efficient strategies for work load balancing and exploiting the maximum performance on the heterogeneous system. Our experimental results showed that the best CPU-GPU collaborated computation model outperforms the corresponding serial and the basic GPU computation models with 30.5x and 2.78x speedups, respectively, on the system with two Xeon E5-2670 processors and a Tesla M2075 GPU.
Prophylaxis of mitochondrial dysfunction caused by cellular decompression from hyperbaric exposure

Mitochondrial dysfunction occurring in response to cellular perturbations can include altered mitochondrial motility and bioenergetic function having intracellular heterogeneity. Exogenous mitochondrial directed therapy may correct these dysfunctions. Using in vitro approaches, we find that cell perturbations induced by rapid decompression from hyperbaric conditions with specific gas exposures has differential effects on mitochondrial motility, inner membrane potential, cellular respiration, reactive oxygen species production, impaired maintenance of cell shape and altered intracellular distribution of bioenergetic capacity in perinuclear and cell peripheral domains. Addition of a first-generation cell-permeable succinate prodrug to support mitochondrial function has positive overall effects in blunting the resultant bioenergy responses. Our results with this model of perturbed cell function induced by rapid decompression indicate that alterations in bioenergetic state are partitioned within the cell, as directly assessed by a combination of mitochondrial respiration and dynamics measurements. Reductions in the observed level of dysfunction produced can be achieved with application of the cell-permeable succinate prodrug.
Active Metamaterial Skins for Friction Coefficient Control

Nature is ripe with biological organisms that possess unique capabilities of changing their skin for various purposes. In particular, many of these natural phenomena are derived from their unique surface topographies. Many attempts have been made to optimize artificial surfaces to increase or decrease friction depending on operational needs. This study introduces an “active skin” based on mechanical metamaterials that harvest instabilities in order to exploit unusual properties. In its pristine state, the surface properties of flat active skins are governed by its intrinsic material properties. When strained, each of the architected units undergoes out-of-plane deformations that drastically change its surface characteristics (i.e., friction). Notches are introduced at judicious locations to control the buckling orientation or each unit cell that plays an important role in the active skin’s surface friction properties. Thus, based on the idea of harvesting structural instabilities, this study introduces a reversible, reconfigurable, active skin that features programmable 3D deformations.
Potassium Glutamate and Glycine Betaine Induce Self-Assembly of Sliding Clamps into Higher Order Oligomers

Sliding clamps are oligomeric ring-shaped proteins that increase the efficiency of DNA replication. The stability of the Escherichia coli β-clamp, a homodimer, is particularly remarkable. The dissociation equilibrium constant of β is of the order of 10 pM in buffers of moderate ionic strength. Coulombic electrostatic interactions have been shown to contribute to this remarkable stability. Increasing NaCl concentration in the assay buffer results in decreased dimer stability and faster subunit dissociation kinetics in a way consistent with simple charge-screening models. Here, we examine non-Coulombic ionic effects on the oligomerization properties of sliding clamps. Replacing NaCl by KGlu, the primary cytoplasmic salt in E. coli, results in the formation of assemblies that involve two or more rings stacked face-to-face. Results can be quantitatively explained on the basis of unfavorable interactions between KGlu and the functional groups on the protein surface, which drive biomolecular processes that bury exposed surface. Similar results were obtained with the S. cerevisiae PCNA sliding clamp, suggesting that KGlu effects are not specific to β. Clamp association is also promoted by glycine betaine, a zwitterionic compound that accumulates intracellularly when E. coli is exposed to high concentrations of extracellular solute. Possible biological implications are discussed.
Anaerobic 1,4-dioxane biodegradation and microbial community analysis in microcosms inoculated with soils or sediments and different electron acceptors.

1,4-Dioxane, a probable human carcinogen, is a co-contaminant at many chlorinated solvent-contaminated sites. Although numerous 1,4-dioxane-degrading aerobic bacteria have been isolated, almost no information exists on the microorganisms able to degrade this chemical under anaerobic conditions. Here, the potential for 1,4-dioxane biodegradation was examined using multiple inocula and electron acceptor amendments. The inocula included uncontaminated agricultural soils and river sediments as well as sediments from two 1,4-dioxane contaminated sites. Five separate experiments involved the examination of triplicate live microcosms and abiotic controls for approximately 1 year. Compound-specific isotope analysis (CSIA) was used to further investigate biodegradation in a subset of the microcosms. Also, DNA was extracted from microcosms exhibiting 1,4-dioxane biodegradation for microbial community analysis using 16S rRNA gene amplicon high-throughput sequencing. Given the long incubation periods, it is likely that electron acceptor depletion occurred and methanogenic conditions eventually dominated. The iron/EDTA/humic acid or sulfate amendments did not result in 1,4-dioxane biodegradation in the majority of cases. 1,4-dioxane biodegradation was most commonly observed in the nitrate amended and no electron acceptor treatments. Notably, both contaminated site sediments illustrated removal in the samples compared to the abiotic controls in the no electron acceptor treatment. However, it is important to note that the degradation was slow (with concentration reductions occurring over approximately 1 year). In two of the three cases examined, CSIA provided additional evidence for 1,4-dioxane biodegradation. In one case, the reduction in 1,4-dioxane in the samples comparing the controls was likely too low for the method to detect a significant 13C/12C enrichment. Further research is required to determine the value of measuring 2H/1H for generating evidence for the biodegradation of this chemical. The microbial community analysis indicated that the phylotypes unclassified Comamonadaceae and 3 genus incertae sedis were more abundant in 1,4-dioxane-degrading microcosms compared to the live controls (no 1,4-dioxane) in microcosms inoculated with contaminated and uncontaminated sediment, respectively. The relative abundance of known 1,4-dioxane degraders was also investigated at the genus level. The soil microcosms were dominated primarily by Rhodanobacter with lower relative abundance values for Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium, and Acinetobacter. The sediment communities were dominated by Pseudomonas and Rhodanobacter. Overall, the current study indicates 1,4-dioxane biodegradation under anaerobic and, likely methanogenic conditions, is feasible. Therefore, natural attenuation may be an appropriate cleanup technology at sites where time is not a limitation.
REFERRAL PATTERNS FOR PULMONARY EMBOLISM (PE) PATIENTS AT A TERTIARY ACADEMIC MEDICAL CENTER: INSIGHTS INTO PULMONARY EMBOLISM RESPONSE TEAM (PERT) UTILIZATION AND PATIENT OUTCOMES

PERTs have emerged as a multi-disciplinary approach in the care of PE patients with intermediate and high-risk PEs. Little is known about referral patterns at PERT institutions, and whether these patterns affect quality and safety outcomes. All intermediate and high risk PE patients at our
Using Genetic Panels to Predict Tenderness in Beef Cattle

Genetic panel use as a selection tool has grown in popularity in the beef industry. The objective of the study was to determine whether beef cattle genetically selected for tenderness generated a tender product. Igenity® (IT) panel results were provided by a cattle producer for 52 steers, which were harvested at a commercial harvest facility. Boneless strip loins (Institutional Meat Purchase Specifications #180; United States Department of Agriculture [USDA] Choice, n = 32; USDA Prime n = 20) were collected from the left side of each carcass and transported to the University of Idaho Meat Science Laboratory. Four steaks were cut from each subprimal and assigned to aging periods of 7, 14, and 21 d for Warner-Bratzler Shear Force (WBSF) analysis or 21 d for consumer sensory analysis. Carcasses were assigned to tenderness groups based on their IT tenderness indexes (Low IT, 3 – 6, n = 30; High IT, 7 – 10, n = 22). Data were analyzed using the mixed model procedure of SAS version 9.4 (SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC). An interaction was observed between tenderness group and USDA quality grade (P = 0.015) when analyzing WBSF. All of the cattle had less than 4.14 kg of WBSF; however, USDA Prime steers that were in the High IT tenderness group produced more tender steaks than High IT USDA Choice, Low IT USDA Prime, and Low IT USDA Choice steers. Consumers were not able to detect tenderness differences between IT tenderness groups (P = 0.11) or USDA quality grades (P = 0.11), but they found USDA Prime steaks to be more acceptable (P = 0.01), juicier (P = 0.01), and more flavorful (P = 0.02) than USDA Choice steaks. In conclusion, regardless of tenderness group, USDA Prime steaks were preferred by consumers over USDA Choice steaks in terms of flavor, juiciness, and acceptability.
Uniform-load testing of open-web steel joists

A technique involving the use of an inflatable rubber bag to apply a uniform load to a single open-web steel joist, which could also be used in the testing for any similar two-dimensional structural member, is described and compared to the method of applying a dead load of known weight. The advantages of this technique over concentrated-load testing and the dead-load method are briefly discussed.
Strategic Realignments: Reorganizing Technical Services and E-Resources Management. A Report from the Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference, Austin, TX, March 2020

The presentation, “Strategic Realignments: Reorganizing Technical Services and E-Resources Management”, took place at the Electronic Resources & Libraries Conference on March 10th, 2020. The presen...
Launch Vehicle Control Design Using Sliding Mode Control Toolbox

In this work, the problem of “Launch vehicle” (LV) in an ascent mode is considered. The use of Sliding Mode Control (SMC) Aero toolbox based on the relative degree approach for an LV dynamics reduces the complexity of the control paradigm. The emphasis on the SMC Aero toolbox and their library classifications based on the various criteria are discussed. Conventional l-SMC algorithm from the SMC Aero toolbox is employed for the LV robust, accurate and precise attitude controller design in the presence of the flexible modes, actuator dynamics, and bounded perturbations. The efficacy of the LV attitude control design using the SMC Aero toolbox is illustrated via numerical simulations.
Preliminary Immunogenicity of a Pan-COVID-19 T Cell Vaccine in HLA-A*02:01 Mice

New strains of SARS-CoV-2 have emerged, including B.1.351 and P.1, that demonstrate increased transmissibility and the potential of rendering current SARS-CoV-2 vaccines less effective. A concern is that existing SARS-CoV-2 spike subunit vaccines produce neutralizing antibodies to three dimensional spike epitopes that are subject to change during viral drift. Here we provide an initial report on the hypothesis that adaptive T cell based immunity may provide a path for a pan-COVID-19 vaccine that is resilient to viral drift. T cell based adaptive immunity can be based on short peptide sequences selected from the viral proteome that are less subject to drift, and can utilize multiple such epitopes to provide redundancy in the event of drift. We find that SARS-CoV-2 peptides contained in a mRNA-LNP T cell vaccine for SARS-CoV-2 are immunogenic in mice transgenic for the human HLA-A*02:01 gene. We plan to test the efficacy of this vaccine with SARS-CoV-2 B.1.351 challenge trials with HLA-A*02:01 mice.
SU-E-T-772: Uncertainties in Treatment Planning for IROC-Houston Proton Phantom QA Program Due to Variable CT Technique and Proton Energy

Purpose: To understand the uncertainties in proton therapy treatment planning for the IROC- Houston proton phantom QA program due to variations in CT technique and proton energy. Methods: A CT phantom used by IROC-H during therapy site visits was scanned using three CT techniques (80, 120, 140kV) with a CT scanner used for proton therapy simulations and irradiated with a passively scattered beam at three energies (140, 200, 250 MeV) to measure, respectively, HU and Relative Linear Stopping Power (RLSP) in order to create HU to RLSP calibration curves for comparison with reference curves used by current proton treatment planning systems. The phantom has proton equivalent materials with a wide variety of HU and RLSPs to allow for the creation of a calibration curve for common tissue equivalent materials. Treatment plans were created for a lung phantom using the various CT technique/ beam energy calibration curves to determine the differences in the dose distributions by performing a gamma analysis. Results: Comparison of the calibration curves created using the phantom materials showed a maximum difference of 12% for a given material between the custom curve and the reference curve currently used by the treatment planning system. The highest differences were a Result of using an 80 kV CT technique and a 250 MeV high proton energy. A comparison of the completed treatment plans will be presented. Conclusion: These results indicate the possibility of differences in proton HU to RLSP calibration curves caused by varying CT technique and proton energy that could manifest as differences in planned and delivered dose distributions, particularly at high proton energies and low kV CT techniques. These differences could Result in discrepancies not accounted for by IROC-Houston and could possibly affect proton institutions’ pass rate when irradiating the proton phantoms.
ケラセップ‐アルミナ／チタニア系モノリス型セラミック膜モジュール

KERASEP, Al2O3/TiO2 based monolithic ceramic membrane modules for MF and UF uses, has been developed by TECH-SEP. It has special features in membrane and support materials, and membrane structure. Market development of KERASEP in Japan has been commenced in water purification application by joining the MAC 21 Project.
Water rights in Norway: a time for change?

The Norwegian concessionary policy for managing water resources has recently been put under pressure. The immediate background is a lack of ownership neutrality: public companies obtain a concession with no time limit, whereas private companies are granted concessions with a time limit and a required reversion of ownership to the state after the concessionary period. This reversion is called the 'hjemfall'. A hundred years ago, such a concessionary regime was deemed necessary to gain public control of an important natural resource. In this paper, we will place the Norwegian practice in a historical context and argue that 'hjemfall' represents an institu-tionalization of the old Roman law, which states that running water belongs to the public. We will also discuss the Norwegian government's options to respond to the increasing pressure against the current concessionary regime by the regulatory, institutional, and technological development that we have witnessed since the laws were passed almost a hundred years ago. Finally, we will discuss some of the challenges that a reform of the concessionary regime represents with respect to investment incentives and windfall gains and losses.
General Adaptation Syndrome

The General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS) is a cluster of bodily responses to severe, prolonged stressors that was first described by Hans Selye. Selye observed that rats exposed to a wide variety of noxious agents exhibited a nonspecific syndrome consisting of enlargement of the adrenal gland, shrinkage of the thymus, spleen, and lymph glands, and the emergence of ulcers in the stomach and small intestine. This was seen in animals exposed to extreme cold and heat, intense sound or light, forced exercise, injections of various organ extracts or formalin, and other potent biological challenges to homeostasis.
On the Complexity of Parallel Implementation of Logic Programs

We study several data-structures and operations that commonly arise in parallel implementations of logic programming languages. The main problems that arise in implementing such parallel systems are abstracted out and precisely stated. Upper and lower bounds are derived for several of these problems. We prove a lower bound of Ω(log n) on the overhead incurred in implementing even a simplified version of or-parallelism. We prove that the aliasing problem in parallel logic programming is at least as hard as the union-find problem. We prove that an and-parallel implementation can be realized on an extended pointer machine with an O(1) overhead.
Acceleration and spatial rheology of Larsen C Ice Shelf, Antarctic Peninsula

The disintegration of several Antarctic Peninsula ice shelves has focused attention on the state of the Larsen C Ice Shelf. Here, we use satellite observations to map ice shelf speed from the years 2000, 2006 and 2008 and apply inverse modeling to examine the spatial pattern of ice-shelf stiffness. Results show that the northern half of the ice shelf has been accelerating since 2000, speeding up by 15% between 2000 and 2006 alone. The distribution of ice stiffness exhibits large spatial variations that we link to tributary glacier flow and fractures. Our results reveal that ice down-flow from promontories is consistently softer, with the exception of Churchill Peninsula where we infer a stabilizing role for marine ice. We conclude that although Larsen C is not facing imminent collapse, it is undergoing significant change in the form of flow acceleration that is spatially related to thinning and fracture. Copyright © 2011 by the American Geophysical Union.
Design and implementation of micromachined lumped quadrature (90/spl deg/) hybrids

To reduce the chip size of a quadrature hybrid at frequencies below K-band, lumped components have been employed to replace the transmission line segments. Systematic analysis and design technique has been developed. For the first time, X-band lumped quadrature hybrids with low insertion loss and wide bandwidth have been fabricated using a micromachined process technology. Approximately, two order of magnitude area reduction has been achieved by this approach compared with distributed designs.
Consultation through a Multicultural Lens: Multicultural and Cross-Cultural Consultation in Schools.

Psychologists practicing in multicultural schools face a wide range of cultural issues that can influence their consultation. The purposes of this article are (a) to use a multicultural lens to exp...