cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
3-D force control on the human fingerpad using a magnetic levitation device for fingernail imaging calibration

This paper demonstrates fast, accurate, and stable force control in three axes simultaneously when a flat surface is pressed against the human fingerpad. The primary application of this force control is for the automated calibration of a fingernail imaging system, where video images of the human fingernail are used to predict the normal and shear forces that occur when the fingerpad is pressed against a flat surface. The system consists of a six degree-of-freedom magnetic levitation device (MLD), whose flotor has been modified to apply forces to the human fingerpad, which is resting in a passive restraint. The system is capable of taking simultaneous steps in normal force and two axes of shear forces with a settling time of less than 0.2 seconds, and achieves a steady-state error as small as 0.05 N in all three axes. The system is also capable of tracking error of less than 0.2 N when the shear force vector rotates with a frequency of 1 rad/s. This paper also demonstrates the successful tracking of a desired force trajectory in three dimensions for calibrating a fingernail imaging system.
Miscellaneous Vector-Borne Diseases

Kissing bugs, tsetse flies, black flies, chigger mites, and human body lice are significant arthropod vectors of disease worldwide. Miscellaneous vector-borne diseases discussed in this chapter include Chagas’ disease, African sleeping sickness, onchocerciasis, scrub typhus, epidemic typhus, trench fever, and louse-borne relapsing fever. The biology, ecology, and disease relationships of each of the abovementioned vectors are discussed, including where each breeds, what animal hosts they feed on, and the like. Lastly, each of these miscellaneous diseases is presented and discussed, including their geographic distributions, vectors, and comments about their treatment, prevention, and control.
Engineering the microstructure of thin films for perpendicular recording

In this paper we discuss various microstructural features that control the recording properties of thin films used in perpendicular recording. These microstructure features include crystallographic texture, grain size, grain size distribution, grain to grain magnetic isolation, grain to grain composition variation and in the case of L1/sub 0/ materials the grain to grain variation in the degree of atomic order. We discuss recording media comprised of continuous thin films as well as granular thin films. We discuss media composed of either hcp Co alloys or FePt L1/sub 0/ alloys. Methods of controlling the microstructural parameters are discussed as is their effects on recording properties. Examples from our recent research will be used to illustrate these microstructural aspects of perpendicular recording media.
Microbial community structure and activity linked to contrasting biogeochemical gradients in bog and fen environments of the Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatland.

ABSTRACT The abundances, compositions, and activities of microbial communities were investigated at bog and fen sites in the Glacial Lake Agassiz Peatland of northwestern Minnesota. These sites contrast in the reactivity of dissolved organic matter (DOM) and the presence or absence of groundwater inputs. Microbial community composition was characterized using pyrosequencing and clone library construction of phylogenetic marker genes. Microbial distribution patterns were linked to pH, concentrations of dissolved organic carbon and nitrogen, C/N ratios, optical properties of DOM, and activities of laccase and peroxidase enzymes. Both bacterial and archaeal richness and rRNA gene abundance were >2 times higher on average in the fen than in the bog, in agreement with a higher pH, labile DOM content, and enhanced enzyme activities in the fen. Fungi were equivalent to an average of 1.4% of total prokaryotes in gene abundance assayed by quantitative PCR. Results revealed statistically distinct spatial patterns between bacterial and fungal communities. Fungal distribution did not covary with pH and DOM optical properties and was vertically stratified, with a prevalence of Ascomycota and Basidiomycota near the surface and much higher representation of Zygomycota in the subsurface. In contrast, bacterial community composition largely varied between environments, with the bog dominated by Acidobacteria (61% of total sequences), while the Firmicutes (52%) dominated in the fen. Acetoclastic Methanosarcinales showed a much higher relative abundance in the bog, in contrast to the dominance of diverse hydrogenotrophic methanogens in the fen. This is the first quantitative and compositional analysis of three microbial domains in peatlands and demonstrates that the microbial abundance, diversity, and activity parallel with the pronounced differences in environmental variables between bog and fen sites.
Formation of polymorphic structure and its influences on properties in uniaxially stretched polybutylene terephthalate films

The evolution of structure and properties in uniaxially stretched polybuty- lene terephthalate (PBT) films has been explored. The stretch temperature has pro- nounced influences on the development of PBT polymorphism; the mechanisms of its formation involve levels of both applied stress as well as chain relaxation during the stretch period. The stretch rate, on the other hand, tends to perfect the structure. PBT films produced under different conditions develop different levels of crystallinity and orientation in the individual a and b phases, in which annealing under tension induces a partial crystal transition from the b to a phase that leads to an increment of orientation in the a phase. The mechanical behavior of the films is related to the polymorphic structure as well as to the overall chain orientation. © 2000 John Wiley &
Dimensions and Assessment of Fatigue

In this chapter, we first review the sources of diagnostic unreliability, otherwise known as variance, which lead to disagreement among clinicians regarding diagnostic decisions. We then review issues related to the assessment of fatigue. We conclude that basic data on scale reliability are often missing, few studies provide information about the cut-off scores that identify clinical cases, and there are few direct comparisons of existing fatigue scales. Fatigue scales used in chronic fatigue syndrome (CFS) studies should have been diagnostically validated in CFS and depression samples, and should represent several factorally distinct dimensions of fatigue. In addition, fatigue scales need to give an accurate assessment of the severe fatigue that is characteristically observed among people with CFS.
Current Industry Methods for Quantifying Energy Service Projects: Key Findings and Lessons Learned

AbstractThe use of energy service performance contracts (ESPCs) has become a popular method for financing energy conservation upgrades. To date, the use of the stipulated savings approach, often expressed as tables and equations, has been a popular method for calculating energy savings in ESPCs. However, no studies to date have confirmed or denied the literature findings regarding the use and acceptance of this method in the current industry through a systematic investigation. Therefore, this research identified other practices by conducting an ethnographic study with subject-matter experts, by reviewing publicly available technical reference manuals, and by analyzing a typical utility assessment report from a recent ESPC. In particular, the methods for quantifying lighting and lighting control measures were explored in detail. The findings indicate that the current industry relies on a stipulated savings method as a foundation for determining the baseline and postretrofit savings. In addition, the curren...
Achieving the Potential: The Future of Federal E-Rulemaking

A key element of the Obama Administration’s Open Government Directive is increasing public participation in regulatory decisionmaking through information and communication technologies. Rulemaking has long been a principal target for federal e-government efforts; for several years, the federal eRulemaking Initiative has been creating a single rulemaking portal, regulations.gov, with a cross-agency electronic rulemaking docket, the Federal Docket Management System. Under the sponsorship of the Administrative Law & Regulatory Practice Section of the American Bar Association, a blue ribbon committee studied the progress and results of these efforts. Its report makes recommendations to Congress, the Administration, and federal agencies for improving system design and performance and developing better agency erulemaking practices. The committee concluded that significant shortcomings in usability and functionality are inextricably bound up with how the Initiative has been structured and funded. Its set of interrelated recommendations in all these areas have been endorsed by the ABA and a number of organizations concerned with citizen access to, and participation in, government.The Foreword and Executive Summary of the report are reproduced here. The full text, along with the the list of endorsing organizations, can be found at the Cornell e-Rulemaking Initiative site.
Idiom Paraphrases: Seventh Heaven vs Cloud Nine

The goal of paraphrase identification is to decide whether two given text fragments have the same meaning. Of particular interest in this area is the identification of paraphrases among short texts, such as SMS and Twitter. In this paper, we present idiomatic expressions as a new domain for short-text paraphrase identification. We propose a technique, utilizing idiom definitions and continuous space word representations that performs competitively on a dataset of 1.4K annotated idiom paraphrase pairs, which we make publicly available for the research community.
Treatment Scheduling for HIV Using Robust Nonlinear Model Predictive Control

Feedback-based treatment scheduling for HIV patients is summarized. The feedback schedules are developed using a dynamic HIV infection model that has appeared in the literature. The theory behind the feedback schedules is non-linear model predictive control. This branch of non-linear control theory is reviewed, limitations are pointed out, and recent developments are summarized. It is indicated how these developments provide a flexible, robust design tool for the HIV treatment scheduling problem.
A Career in Catalysis: John E. Bercaw

On the occasion of Professor John Bercaw’s 70th birthday, we reflect and highlight his distinguished career in organometallic chemistry and homogeneous catalysis. What began as a fundamental interest in the chemistry of bis(cyclopentadienyl)titanium compounds and their interaction with molecular nitrogen evolved into a vibrant and diverse program tackling some of the most important problems in catalysis. Using well-defined organometallic compounds, fundamental insights were gained in the mechanism of CO reduction; basic transformations of organometallic chemistry, such as alkene insertion and alkyl β-hydrogen elimination; the origin of stereocontrol in metallocene-catalyzed polymerization; and in the activation of hydrocarbons by electrophilic late transition metals.
Radical-triplet pair interactions as probes of long-range polymer motion in solution.

Radical–triplet pair interactions are used to investigate the dynamics of acrylic polymers in dilute solution. Methyl methacrylate was randomly copolymerized with a small amount of an amine-containing monomer to create the polymers. The amine subunits were then oxidized to nitroxide moieties (stable free radicals). Using time-resolved electron paramagnetic resonance (TREPR) spectroscopy on the sub-microsecond time scale, competition is observed between two deactivation processes of the ester side chain photoexcited triplet state: (1) Norrish I α-cleavage, leading to a 21-line main chain polymeric free radical TREPR spectrum with emissive triplet mechanism spin polarization, and (2) spin polarization transfer or quenching by a nearby stable nitroxide radical, which gives a 3-line spectrum exhibiting emissive radical–triplet pair spin polarization. The main chain polymer radical signal dominates the TREPR spectrum if the probability of radical–triplet pair encounters is low. These competing reactions show a...
Kinetics and thermodynamics of H2O dissociation on reduced CeO2(111)

We use density functional theory to investigate the reaction between reduced CeO2–x(111) and water. H2O dissociation to hydroxyl is facile on surface vacancies and lattice oxygen, while subsequent decomposition of hydroxyl into H2 has a high barrier, which results in reversible adsorption of H2O under ultra-high-vacuum conditions. The barrier to H2 formation through hydroxyl decomposition decreases by 0.2 eV, while H2O formation becomes more difficult at high hydroxyl coverage. However, on isolated oxygen vacancies on a hydroxyl covered surface, H2 may be produced through a CeH intermediate with a 1.14 eV barrier. Oxygen vacancies are found to be more stable in the subsurface than in the surface layer at all vacancy coverages and for hydroxyl coverages less than 25–50%. The competition of H2O desorption and vacancy diffusion from the subsurface to the surface may prevent formation of hydroxyl from H2O dosing at low temperature, while the highly stable hydroxyl phase may provide a thermodynamic driving for...
Stimulus frequency: Determinant of perception or response?

Two stimulus variables, frequency of word usage and word configuration, were investigated tachistoscopically by a method designed to separate their effects on perception and verbal responding. Configurational differences appeared to alter perception. Differences in frequency of usage, however, were associated only with changes in response probability.
The performance of port/starboard beamforming using vector hydrophone linear arrays

The vector information of the acoustic field which contains the bearing of the source can be measured by the particle velocity sensors,and this makes it possible for the vector hydrophone linear array (VHLA) sonars to have the ability of solving the notorious port/starboard ambiguity suffered by the scalar single-line array. In this paper,two beamformers based on the generalized cardioid processing (GCP) and the sound intensity processing (SIP) are analyzed theoretically to explore the performance of port/starboard discrimination,and the results are compared to the experimental data obtained in sea trials. Analysis shows that the adaptive beamformer outperforms the convectional one. Furthermore,with respect to the ability of signal detection,GCP is a better one for the VHLA signal processing.
Improved Wireless Street Lamp Control System Based on MCU

In view of the issue of the current city street lighting systems,automation of the management level and system reliability is not high.This paper introduces an improved centralized monitoring street system.The system is set of automatic control technology,sensor technology,wireless communication technology,network of monitoring and control system and software technology in one group of wireless street control system.It guarantees that the street lamps are in a sound condition and are able to give fault information back to the host computer.So that it reduces the burden of manual check in the past,improves the level of modern control and management of the urban road lighting.
THE CHILD, HIS FAMILY AND ILLNESS.

The physician can be more effective when he is called on to treat a common disease in a child if he understands the social structure and illness patterns of the family. The family situation may be one of the causative factors in the illness or it may influence the outcome. Illness in a child may have important repercussions on the rest of the family or may even be the presenting symptom of more serious disease in another member of the family.
847 Longitudinal study of driver licensing and motor vehicle crash rates among teens with autism

Background Two-thirds of teens with ASD without intellectual disability (ID) reported that they plan to drive but deficits in attention, cognition, and executive function may impact their ability to drive safely. Almost nothing is known about licensure and crash rates among these teens. We conducted a longitudinal study within a large paediatric healthcare network to compare the rate of obtaining a driver’s license and risk of motor vehicle crash involvement among teens who have ASD without ID and a comparable group of teens who do not. Methods We linked two unique data sources: (1) electronic health records for 68,592 New Jersey (NJ) residents born 1987–1995 who were patients of the CHOP network within 4 years of driving-eligible age; and (2) a database containing the full licensing and crash history of all NJ drivers through June 2012. Subjects were classified as having ASD using ICD-9-CM diagnosis codes and known chronic conditions from their EHR; those with ID were excluded. Licensing rates and crash risk were compared for 682 patients with ASD and 62,719 without ASD using Cox regression to estimate adjusted hazard ratios (HR). Results Subjects had a median [interquartile range] of 6 [2, 17] CHOP visits, were 16.7 [14.7, 18.5] years old at their last visit, and were 20.8 [18.8, 22.9] at the end of the study. Although teens with ASD were much less likely (39% vs. 84%) to obtain a driver’s permit by age 21, the majority (91%) of those who obtained a permit went on to become licensed. Overall, the crash rate for subjects with ASD was lower than for those without ASD (21% vs 33%) with an adjusted HR of 0.75 (95% CI: 0.55, 1.03). Conclusions This is the first study to report objective license and crash data for a cohort of teens with ASD. These findings suggest families decide about independent driving primarily before teens get behind the wheel. Future studies will examine parent-teen interactions and account for driving exposure in effect estimates.
Neuroendocrine Effects of Developmental PCB Exposure, with Particular Reference to Hypothalamic Gene Expression

The production and commercial use of novel man-made chemicals over the past century have introduced a variety of industrial compounds into the environment, including polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). PCBs alter a multitude of physiological processes in humans and wildlife, and our laboratory and others have been studying the endocrine-disrupting mechanisms by which PCBs specifically affect the hypothalamic control of reproduction. This article will review the literature on PCB effects on reproductive neuroendocine systems, focusing on effects of exposure during fetal development, a life stage that is particularly susceptible to endocrine disruption. We also provide the example of how the use of a whole genome microarray (Affymetrix rat 2.0) to assay gene expression in the preoptic area (POA; a part of the hypothalamus involved in the control of reproductive physiology and behavior) of female rats fetally exposed to PCBs enabled us to determine whether there was wholesale reprogramming of genes in a manner maintained in adulthood. We also use this method to interrogate the pathways by which PCBs exert these effects, and to ascertain any commonalities of potential dose–response relationships, as endocrine-disrupting chemicals (EDCs) often exert non-traditional, non-monotonic effects on physiological systems. The results show that there are indeed a large number of POA genes and pathways perturbed by prenatal PCB exposure. Although some predicted estrogenic pathways were identified by this method, we also identified other hormonal, neurotransmitter, immune, blood, transcriptional, and intracellular signaling pathways that were affected by the prenatal PCBs. Furthermore, this analysis enabled us to show that the dose–response relationships between exposure and gene expression were almost entirely non-monotonic, with U-shaped and inverted U-shaped the most common. The example of PCBs as neuroendocrine disruptors may predict the effects of many other compounds, including anthropogenic chemicals used today such as bisphenol A and phthalates.
“Genuine Struggle and Care”: An Interview With Cleo Silvers

Philadelphia native Cleo Silvers moved to New York City to take up a VISTA (Volunteers in Service to America) post in the mid-1960s. In the course of her VISTA service, she was awakened to the extreme deprivation faced by many Blacks and Latinos in Manhattan and the Bronx, New York. This experience also occasioned a political awakening in Silvers, who sought to systematically understand the social and economic inequality she witnessed and how to upend it. Following her VISTA service, she worked as a community mental health worker at Lincoln Hospital in the Bronx. She also joined the Black Panther Party in Harlem, New York. As a Panther, her work included conducting neighborhood health surveys and door-to-door testing for sickle cell anemia and lead poisoning and being a patient advocate in its clinic. Silvers later became a member of the Young Lords Party and played a role in its takeover of Lincoln Hospital in the South Bronx. In more recent years, Silvers served as executive director of For a Better Bronx, a community-based social and environmental justice organization. She recently retired from a position as a community outreach director at a leading New York City medical center.
Innovative Professors and the Civic-Minded Student

When I began teaching at Collin College the first few semesters everything was new and teaching the same two sections of American/Texas Government1 was exciting and a constant challenge. However, as I began to settle into my role as a teacher 2 I started to realize a few things that fundamentally challenged and changed my approach to teaching. Teaching the same sections of the two courses that students are required to take as part of their core curriculum in Texas started to become a chore. I even found myself experiencing a defeating feeling when having to teach the same topics and dreading certain chapters either because of their monotony, or simply because I was following the structure of the textbook (or every other textbook for that matter). Another striking issue that I was confronted with was students attitudes and lack of engagement in regards to politics. I learned that many students did not realize how decisions made by any level of government or governing body can and does have a direct impact on them. As I began to discuss with students where they received their political knowledge from (aside from the obvious ones like parents, community, school etc.), I was confronted with the overwhelming theme of how government was even approached in the first place. I further noticed that students lacked the tools and knowledge to be political agents of social change; therefore, even asking them to become engaged resulted with frustration. Whether in high school or at another institution, the government classes’ primary role was not to create civic minded students. And although I see the necessity of teaching the fundamental concepts of the discipline, I also see that it is the responsibility of the discipline to create the civic-minded student. So there I was, with what I felt were my two larger challenges: How could I keep myself interested, passionate and relevant as a teacher, while at the same time engaging these students with the material and creating civic-minded students.
Web Archive Profiling Through Fulltext Search

An archive profile is a high-level summary of a web archive’s holdings that can be used for routing Memento queries to the appropriate archives. It can be created by generating summaries from the CDX files (index of web archives) which we explored in an earlier work. However, requiring archives to update their profiles periodically is difficult. Alternative means to discover the holdings of an archive involve sampling based approaches such as fulltext keyword searching to learn the URIs present in the response or looking up for a sample set of URIs and see which of those are present in the archive. It is the fulltext search based discovery and profiling that is the scope of this paper. We developed the Random Searcher Model (RSM) to discover the holdings of an archive by a random search walk. We measured the search cost of discovering certain percentages of the archive holdings for various profiling policies under different RSM configurations. We can make routing decisions of 80 % of the requests correctly while maintaining about 0.9 recall by discovering only 10 % of the archive holdings and generating a profile that costs less than 1 % of the complete knowledge profile.
Vascular Ring Diagnosis and Management: Notable Trends Over 25 Years.

Background:Vascular rings (VRs) are recognized as uncommon but not rare cardiovascular malformations.Methods:We analyzed data from all patients born in Southern Nevada, who underwent diagnosis and ...
Mixed Bram–Halmos and Agler–Embry conditions

Abstract The subnormality of a Hilbert space operator may be characterized either by the Bram–Halmos conditions (positivity of certain operator matrices) or the Agler–Embry conditions (positivity of certain operator differences). We define and consider mixed conditions involving matrices of operator differences, thus yielding conditions whose extremes are the Bram–Halmos and Agler–Embry conditions. We study these conditions for weighted shifts, showing that they reduce to matrices of differences of the moments of the shifts, and examine these conditions under the perturbation of a single weight of a subnormal shift.
Los hijos de la Xica que Manda: El laberinto de la soledad de Octavio Paz en Fe en disfraz de Mayra Santos-Febres

En la novela Fe en disfraz (2009), Mayra Santos-Febres ha reescrito El laberinto de la soledad (1950) de Octavio Paz en un espacio transnacional que incluye Estados Unidos, Brasil, Puerto Rico y Venezuela para hacer el estudio de la esclavitud y la identidad afro-latinoamericana pagano, corporeo, visceral y politico. Su protagonista, la historiadora Fe, tiene relaciones al estilo kink con su colega y empleado Martin cada Noche de Brujas. En estos encuentros, Fe se viste de la brasilena esclavizada Xica da Silva, usando un vestido original de la mulata legendaria. A traves del mito y los rituales, los personajes de “se abren” a una historia abyecta de sus identidades. Este articulo analiza la violacion fundacional, las fiestas, las mascaras y los laberintos en las obras de los dos escritores. Muestra los paralelos entre el pachuco de Paz y la Xica de Santos-Febres. Analiza la soledad y el amor en el ensayo y la novela y termina con una lectura alegorica y politica de las obras de ambos escritores. Santos-Febres presenta una adultez pan-americana que, a traves de esta alegoria del “loco amor”, abre el pasado y el futuro de la historia a traves de la poesia, el cuerpo, el mito y el genero femenino.
Transition-state analogue inhibitors of γ-secretase bind directly to presenilin-1

The β-amyloid precursor protein (β-APP), which is involved in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease, and the Notch receptor, which is responsible for critical signalling events during development, both undergo unusual proteolysis within their transmembrane domains by unknown γ-secretases. Here we show that an affinity reagent designed to interact with the active site of γ-secretase binds directly and specifically to heterodimeric forms of presenilins, polytopic proteins that are mutated in hereditary Alzheimer’s and are known mediators of γ-secretase cleavage of both β-APP and Notch. These results provide evidence that heterodimeric presenilins contain the active site of γ-secretase, and validate presenilins as principal targets for the design of drugs to treat and prevent Alzheimer’s disease.
Examining parental monitoring as a moderator of the relationship between depressed mood and alcohol use and problems

Abstract Background The comorbidity of depressed mood and college student drinking causes consequences for both the individual and society. Aspects of parenting have been shown to be important for college students' well-being. While some interventions are beginning to address this population, few studies have examined how parental monitoring impacts the relationship between depressed mood, alcohol use, and related consequences. The present study examined whether perceived parental monitoring moderated the relationship between depressed mood and alcohol use and related problems. Methods Students ( N = 796) completed a survey during the fall semester of their first two years of college at a large, public university assessing drinking and related negative consequences, maternal and paternal monitoring, and depressed mood. Results Results revealed that maternal and paternal monitoring moderated the relationship between depressed mood and typical weekly drinking, and depressed mood and consequences (i.e., self-perception, self-care, blackouts). Conclusions Interventions should be tailored to parents based on considerations of both student mental health and alcohol use.
General Analysis Strategy

To measure the top quark pair production cross section in the \(\ell \)+jets channel, the key feature is to distinguish between top quark pair production and the dominant background processes, \(W\)+jets production and QCD multijet production. This can be achieved by imposing harsh cuts on the event selection leading to a signal enriched sample with small backgrounds. In such a case, a simple counting experiment can be used to extract the cross section and is typically done for measurements with low statistics. However, once the statistics of the available data set grows, the limiting factor will be the systematic uncertainty.
An fNIRS-Based Feature Learning and Classification Framework to Distinguish Hemodynamic Patterns in Children Who Stutter

Stuttering is a communication disorder that affects approximately 1% of the population. Although 5–8% of preschool children begin to stutter, the majority will recover with or without intervention. There is a significant gap, however, in our understanding of why many children recover from stuttering while others persist and stutter throughout their lives. Detecting neurophysiological biomarkers of stuttering persistence is a critical objective of this paper. In this paper, we developed a novel supervised sparse feature learning approach to discover discriminative biomarkers from functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) brain imaging data recorded during a speech production experiment from 46 children in three groups: children who stutter ( ${n}=\textsf {16}$ ); children who do not stutter ( ${n}=\textsf {16}$ ); and children who recovered from stuttering ( ${n}=\textsf {14}$ ). We made an extensive feature analysis of the cerebral hemodynamics from fNIRS signals and selected a small number of important discriminative features using the proposed sparse feature learning framework. The selected features are capable of differentiating neural activation patterns between children who do and do not stutter with an accuracy of 87.5% based on a five-fold cross-validation procedure. The discovered set cerebral hemodynamics features are presented as a set of promising biomarkers to elucidate the underlying neurophysiology in children who have recovered or persisted in stuttering and to facilitate future data-driven diagnostics in these children.
Histologic and Oncologic Outcomes Following Liver Mass Resection With Retroperitoneal Lymph Node Dissection in Patients With Nonseminomatous Germ Cell Tumor.

Objective To evaluate the oncologic outcomes and histologic concordance of postchemotherapy residual liver mass resection with postchemotherapy retroperitoneal lymph node dissection (PC-RPLND). Methods Retrospective review of our prospectively maintained germ cell tumor (GCT) surgical database identified patients with nonseminomatous GCT who underwent both postchemotherapy residual liver mass resection and PC-RPLND between 1990 and 2015. Results A total of 36 patients were identified, of whom 29 (81%) presented with a liver mass at initial diagnosis and 17 (47%) received second-line chemotherapy before liver resection. Teratoma was found in 8 (22%) and 5 (14%) of PC-RPLND and liver resection specimens, respectively. Viable GCT was found in 5 (14%) and 4 (11%) of PC-RPLND and liver resection specimens, respectively. Histologic discordance was observed in 4 of 19 patients (21%; 95% confidence interval [CI] 6.1%-46%); in all cases, liver resection specimens contained teratoma or viable GCT while PC-RPLND revealed only fibrosis or necrosis. At 3 years after surgical intervention, the Kaplan-Meier estimated probability of cancer-specific survival was 75% (95% CI 55%-85%) and the probability of progression-free survival was 75% (95% CI 56%-87%). Conclusion In this contemporary cohort, clinically significant discordance was observed between the histology of metastatic liver masses and that of retroperitoneal lymph nodes. The benefit of postchemotherapy liver mass resection for patients with advanced nonseminomatous GCT is supported by favorable survival outcomes. Until more reliable predictors of postchemotherapy histology exist, complete surgical resection of all sites of residual disease should be performed whenever feasible.
On the Modes of Regulation of Intracellular Cyclic AMP: Desensitization of Adenylyl Cyclases to Hormonal Stimulation and Compartmentalization of Cyclic AMP

Intracellular levels of cyclic AMP are generally considered to be the result of the complex interplay between formation of cyclic AMP by adenylyl cyclase and removal of cyclic, either through hydrolysis by phosphodiesterase (PDE) or extrusion from the cell by active or passive transport across the plasma membrane. In addition cyclic AMP levels may also be determined by unequal distribution throughout the cell. Of the systems involved in the regulation of intracellular cyclic AMP levels, other articles in this book deal with the regulation of adenylyl cyclases by stimulatory and inhibitory hormones and by nucleotides and nucleosides with regulation of PDE activities both in rapid and reversible manners as well as in slow and possibly protein synthesis dependent manners; and with regulation of exit rates of cyclic AMP as seen in some cell lines after virus transformation.
Diffusion of charge-carrying ions in tunnel manganese oxides: effect of 1D tunnel size and ionic content

The low cost, environmental friendliness, and high electrochemical activity of manganese oxides make them attractive candidates for electrodes in intercalation-based battery systems. Tunnel manganese oxides are a subset of this materials family built from corner and edge sharing MnO6 octahedra arranged around stabilizing cations and water molecules to form tunnels of various size and shape. Here, we synthesize three tunnel manganese oxides with different 1D diffusion channel size and ionic content. The apparent Li+ ion and Na+ ion diffusion coefficients are calculated from the galvanostatic intermittent titration technique to understand the effect of tunnel size and ionic content on diffusion of charge-carrying ions through the one-dimensional structural tunnels. In LIBs, the material with the largest tunnels demonstrated the highest Li+ ion diffusion coefficient, while in SIBs the material stabilized by Na+ ions (the same as the charge-carrying ions) demonstrated the highest rate performance, revealing the significance of ionic content in the structural tunnels. These results highlight the importance of the relationship between tunnel size and charge-carrying ion size and provide insight into the design and selection of tunnel manganese oxides for improved diffusion of charge carrying species.
Social Complexity in the Virtual World

Guild sizes for five massive multiplayer online game guilds, and their aggregate data set, were analyzed and tested for fit against four candidate distributional models: power law, linear, exponential, and log-normal. Results provide very strong support of a power law distribution, especially in the aggregated data set, for which all other distributions were rejected. This indicates that a non-equilibrium, scale-free process underlies the dynamics of guild formation. One can conclude that social processes that generate similar distributions in “real world” organizations are extendable to social life in virtual worlds.
The growing impact of Shadow IT on higher education

The problems associated with Shadow IT (SIT) continue to grow throughout higher education. Some of the challenges include cybersecurity concerns, noncompliance with regulatory requirements, and end-user-built applications that do not meet university standards. In today's digital economy, end-users have an expanding number of IT options and recent data suggest that these end-users are increasingly using SIT in support of their work and school assignments. The results of a survey based on the ground theory model identified a number of categories that help explain the dynamics between end-users and central IT. A causal loop model was then applied to the task of resolving these qualitative-based conflicts, paving the way for the development of an amelioration plan. The purpose of this article is to introduce the hybrid-driven IT model, which is designed to establish the most appropriate level of SIT that optimises overall institutional IT performance.
Phases of a Pandemic Surge: The Experience of an Ethics Service in New York City during COVID-19

When the COVID-19 surge hit New York City hospitals, the Division of Medical Ethics at Weill Cornell Medical College, and our affiliated ethics consultation services, faced waves of ethical issues sweeping forward with intensity and urgency. In this article, we describe our experience over an eight-week period (16 March through 10 May 2020), and describe three types of services: clinical ethics consultation (CEC); service practice communications/interventions (SPCI); and organizational ethics advisement (OEA). We tell this narrative through the prism of time, describing the evolution of ethical issues and trends as the pandemic unfolded. We delineate three phases: anticipation and preparation, crisis management, and reflection and adjustment. The first phase focused predominantly on ways to address impending resource shortages and to plan for remote ethics consultation, and CECs focused on code status discussions with surrogates. The second phase was characterized by the dramatic convergence of a rapid increase in the number of critically ill patients, a growing scarcity of resources, and the reassignment/redeployment of staff outside their specialty areas. The third phase was characterized by the recognition that while the worst of the crisis was waning, its medium- and long-term consequences continued to pose immense challenges. We note that there were times during the crisis that serving in the role of clinical ethics consultant created a sense of dis-ease as novel as the coronavirus itself. In retrospect we learned that our activities far exceeded the familiar terrain of clinical ethics consultation and extended into other spheres of organizational life in novel ways that were unanticipated before this pandemic. To that end, we defined and categorized a middle level of ethics consultation, which we have termed service practice communication intervention (SPCI). This is an underappreciated dimension of the work that ethics consult services are capable of in times of crisis. We believe that the pandemic has revealed the many enduring ways that ethics consultation services can more robustly contribute to the ethical life of their institutions moving forward.
Imperial leather: race, cross-dressing and the cult of domesticity

Analyzing the S\M relationship of a Victorian couple, the author argues that Hannah Cullwickstravestism and fetichism were a sustained attempt to negociate the perils attending the Victorian erasure of women's work - one of the most successful vanishing acts of modern history. Refusing to barter her unruly working-class strength for the halter of respectability, she decked herself in her own symbolic chains and threw dramatically into question the Victorian narrative of progress and the heterosexual Family of Man.
Rapid dissolution of PuO 2 analytical samples using mediated electrochemical oxidation

Current methods for quantitative dissolution of solid PuO2 involve lengthy dissolution times. The adaptation of mediated electrochemical oxidation, which uses an electrochemically produced oxidizing agent to catalyze dissolution, has been explored for radiochemical analysis scale dissolutions of PuO2. The effects of temperature, electrode material, and electrocatalyst on the dissolution kinetics were explored. Under conditions examined in this study, complete dissolution of tens of milligrams of solid PuO2 can be achieved in less than 1 h at ambient temperature. This methodology could be adapted to dissolve other metal oxides.
Editors' Choice—Ionomer Side Chain Length and Equivalent Weight Impact on High Current Density Transport Resistances in PEMFC Cathodes

Author(s): Ramaswamy, N; Kumaraguru, S; Koestner, R; Fuller, T; Gu, W; Kariuki, N; Myers, D; Dudenas, PJ; Kusoglu, A | Abstract: Cell voltage at high current densities (HCD) of an operating proton-exchange membrane fuel cell (PEMFC) suffers from losses due to the local-O2 and bulk-H+ transport resistances in the cathode catalyst layer (CCL). Particularly, the interaction of perfluorosulfonic acid (PFSA) ionomer with the carbon supported platinum catalyst plays a critical role in controlling reactant transport to the active site. In this study, we perform a systematic analysis of the side chain length and equivalent weight (EW) of PFSA ionomers on the CCL transport resistances. Ex situ measurements were carried out to quantify the ionomer characteristics such as the molecular weight, proton conductivity and water uptake. Nanomorphology of ionomers cast as 60-120 nm thin-films is characterized using grazing-incidence X-ray scattering. In situ fuel cell electrochemical diagnostic measurements were carried out to quantify the reactant (H+/O2) transport properties of the CCL. Ionomer EW was found to play a major role with decreasing EW yielding higher proton conductivity and water uptake that led to lower bulk-H+ and local-O2 transport resistances in the CCL. Finally, a 1D-semi-empirical performance model has been developed to quantify the impact of ionomer EW on cell voltage loss factors.
Sensor Domain of Histidine Kinase VxrA of Vibrio cholerae- A Hairpin-swapped Dimer and its Conformational Change.

ABSTRACT VxrA and VxrB are cognate histidine kinase (HK)-response regulator (RR) pairs of a two-component signaling system (TCS) found in Vibrio cholerae, a bacterial pathogen that causes cholera. The VxrAB TCS positively regulates virulence, the type VI secretion system, biofilm formation, and cell wall homeostasis in V. cholerae, providing protection from environmental stresses and contributing to the transmission and virulence of the pathogen. The VxrA HK has a unique periplasmic sensor domain (SD) and, remarkably, lacks a cytoplasmic linker domain between the second transmembrane helix and the dimerization and histidine phosphotransfer (DHp) domain, indicating that this system may utilize a potentially unique signal sensing and transmission TCS mechanism. In this study, we have determined several crystal structures of VxrA-SD and its mutants. These structures reveal a novel structural fold forming an unusual β hairpin-swapped dimer. A conformational change caused by relative rotation of the two monomers in a VxrA-SD dimer could potentially change the association of transmembrane helices and, subsequently, the pairing of cytoplasmic DHp domains. Based on the structural observation, we propose a putative scissor-like closing regulation mechanism for the VxrA HK. IMPORTANCEV. cholerae has a dynamic life cycle, which requires rapid adaptation to changing external conditions. Two-component signal transduction (TCS) systems allow V. cholerae to sense and respond to these environmental changes. The VxrAB TCS positively regulates a number of important V. cholerae phenotypes, including virulence, the type six secretion system, biofilm formation, and cell wall homeostasis. Here, we provide the crystal structures of the VxrA sensor histidine kinase sensing domain and propose a mechanism for signal transduction. The cognate signal for VxrAB remains unknown; however, in this work we couple our structural analysis with functional assessments of key residues to further our understanding of this important TCS.
Expanded Education and Global Integration: Solidarity and Conflict

on education. Journal for research and debate 4 (2021) 10, 5 S. Padagogische Teildisziplin: Interkulturelle und International Vergleichende Erziehungswissenschaft; Bildungssoziologie;
A systems approach to analyzing food, energy, and water uses of a multifunctional crop: A review

Abstract Multifunctional crops can simultaneously contribute to multiple societal objectives. As a result, they represent an attractive means for improving rural livelihoods. Moringa oleifera is an example of a multifunctional crop that produces nutritious leaves with uses as food, fodder, and a biostimulant to enhance crop growth. It yields seeds containing a water purifying coagulant and oil with cosmetic uses and possible biofuel feedstock. Despite Moringa oleifera's (and other multifunctional crops') various Food-Energy-Water uses, optimizing the benefits of its multiple uses and livelihood improvements remains challenging. There is a need for holistic approaches capable of assessing the multifunctionality of agriculture and livelihood impacts. Therefore, this paper critically evaluates Moringa oleifera's Food-Energy-Water-Livelihood nexus applications to gain insight into the tradeoffs and synergies among its various applications using a systems thinking approach. A systems approach is proposed as a holistic thinking framework that can help navigate the complexity of a crop's multifunctionality. The “Success to the Successful” systems archetype was adopted to capture the competition between the need for leaf yields and seed yields. In areas where there is energy and water insecurity, Moringa oleifera seed production is recommended for its potential to coproduce oil, the water purifying coagulant, and a residue that can be applied as a fertilizer. In areas where food insecurity is an issue, focusing on leaf production would be beneficial due to its significance in augmenting food for human consumption, animal feed, and its use as a biostimulant to increase crop yields. A causal loop diagram was found to effectively map the interconnections among the various uses of Moringa oleifera and associated livelihood improvements. This framework provides stakeholders with a conceptual decision-making tool that can help maximize positive livelihood outcomes. This approach can also be applied for improved management of other multifunctional crops.
Evaluation of Elements of a Prospective System to Alert Users to Intentionally Deceptive Content

This paper presents a system designed to alert users to potentially deceptive online media. It reviews existing alert mechanisms and labeling systems which provide inspiration for the system’s components. It also discusses how a new mechanism could be developed that uses elements of these common alert mechanisms to warn users about potentially deceptive content on web pages. This paper evaluates the benefits, risks, and limitations of the proposed system. Sources of the alert components, and their integration into a single combined alert system, are discussed as are planned areas of future work.