cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Can pollution problems be effectively solved by environmental science and technology? An analysis of critical limitations ☆

Abstract It is currently believed that science and technology can provide effective solutions to most, if not all, environmental problems facing western industrial societies. The validity of this optimistic assumption is highly questionable for at least three reasons: First, current mechanistic, reductionist science is inherently incapable of providing the complete and accurate information which is required to successfully address environmental problems. Second, both the conservation of mass principle and the second law of thermodynamics dictate that most remediation technologies — while successful in solving specific pollution problems — cause unavoidable negative environmental impacts elsewhere or in the future. Third, it is intrinsically impossible to design industrial processes that have no negative environmental impacts. This follows not only from the entropy law but also from the fact that any generation of energy is impossible without negative environmental consequences. It can therefore be concluded that science and technology have only very limited potential in solving current and future environmental problems. Consequently, it will be necessary to address the root cause of environmental deterioration, namely, the prevailing materialistic values that are the main driving force for both overpopulation and overconsumption. The long-term protection of the environment is, therefore, not primarily a technical problem but rather a social and moral problem that can only be solved by drastically reducing the strong influence of materialistic values.
Investigations into nuclear pairing

Recibido el 13 de enero de 2006; aceptado el 14 de marzo de 2006This paper is divided in two main sections focusing on different aspects of collective nuclear behavior. In the ﬁrst section, solutions areconsidered for the collective pairing Hamiltonian. In particular, an approximate solution at the critical point of the pairing transition fromharmonic vibration (normal nuclear behavior) to deformed rotation (superconducting behavior) in gauge space is found by analytic solutionof the Hamiltonian. The eigenvalues are expressed in terms of the zeros of Bessel functions of integer order. The results are compared tothe pairing bands based on the Pb isotopes. The second section focuses on the experimental search for the Giant Pairing Vibration (GPV) innuclei. After brieﬂy describing the origin of the GPV, and the reasons that the state has remained unidentiﬁed, a novel idea for populatingthis state is presented. A recent experiment has been performed using the LIBERACE+STARS detector system at the 88–Inch Cyclotron ofLBNL to test the idea.
Annual Summary of Vital Statistics: 2008

The number of births in the United States decreased between 2007 and 2008 (preliminary estimate: 4 251 095). Birth rates declined among all women aged 15 to 39 years; the decrease among teenagers reverses the increases seen in the previous 2 years. The total fertility rate decreased 2% in 2008 to 2085.5 births per 1000 women. The proportion of all births to unmarried women increased to 40.6% in 2008, up from 39.7% in 2007. The 2008 preterm birth rate was 12.3%, a decline of 3% from 2007. In 2008, 32.3% of all births occurred by cesarean delivery, up nearly 2% from 2007. Twin and triplet birth rates were unchanged. The infant mortality rate was 6.59 infant deaths per 1000 live births in 2008 (significantly lower than the rate of 6.75 in 2007). Life expectancy at birth was 77.8 years in 2008. Crude death rates for children aged 1 to 19 years decreased by 5.5% between 2007 and 2008. Unintentional injuries and homicide were, respectively, the first and second leading causes of death in this age group. These 2 causes of death jointly accounted for 51.2% of all deaths of children and adolescents in 2008. This annual article is a long-standing feature in Pediatrics and provides a summary of the most current vital statistics data for the United States. We also include a special feature this year on the differences in cesarean-delivery rates according to race and Hispanic origin.
Reinforcement Learning with Human Teachers: Understanding How People Want to Teach Robots

While Reinforcement Learning (RL) is not traditionally designed for interactive supervisory input from a human teacher, several works in both robot and software agents have adapted it for human input by letting a human trainer control the reward signal. In this work, we experimentally examine the assumption underlying these works, namely that the human-given reward is compatible with the traditional RL reward signal. We describe an experimental platform with a simulated RL robot and present an analysis of real-time human teaching behavior found in a study in which untrained subjects taught the robot to perform a new task. We report three main observations on how people administer feedback when teaching a robot a task through Reinforcement Learning: (a) they use the reward channel not only for feedback, but also for future-directed guidance; (b) they have a positive bias to their feedback ? possibly using the signal as a motivational channel; and (c) they change their behavior as they develop a mental model of the robotic learner. In conclusion, we discuss future extensions to RL to accommodate these lessons.
Local or State? Evidence on Bank Market Size Using Branch Prices

With the elimination of state laws against branching, banks can now compete across states. They are no longer limited to competing in local markets, defined by the Federal Reserve as metropolitan statistical areas or small groups of rural counties. Accordingly, a "local or state?" debate over market size is taking place among researchers, with some arguing that banking markets are statewide and others contending that they remain local. This article contributes to the debate with a novel, arguably better, indicator of market size: bank branch prices, as opposed to bank deposit rates. The pattern of branch price data suggests that banking markets are not necessarily local. The authors find that branch prices in ten northeast states over the 1990s are more closely correlated with bank concentration at the state level than at the local level, consistent with the "state-market" argument. However, they caution that the relationship is not completely robust; it depends partly on how the data are parsed. Further study using a larger set of branch price data will help settle the debate more definitively.
Chemotherapeutic agents for human immunodeficiency virus infection: mechanism of action, pharmacokinetics, metabolism, and adverse reactions

Since the mid-1980s, four new nucleoside reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitors (zalcitabine, didanosine, stavudine, and lamivudine), two nonnucleoside RT inhibitors (nevirapine and delavirdine), and four new protease inhibitors (saquinavir, ritonavir, indinavir, and nelfinavir) have been approved by the US Food and Drug Administration for the treatment of patients with acquired immunodeficiency syndrome. The driving force behind the development of these new agents has been the increasing need for more potent agents with reduced or modified toxicity profiles. The purpose of this article is to review the absorption, distribution, metabolism, elimination, toxicities, adverse reactions, and mechanism of action of the currently available drugs.
Iloperidone (Fanapt®): Fan or not?

Iloperidone was approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in May of 2009. This article reviews clinically significant aspects of this new drug including: the FDA-approved indications, mechanism of action, administration, drug interactions, adverse effects, clinical trial evidence, innovative properties and place in therapy.
Nicotine enhances ethanol-induced fat accumulation and collagen deposition but not inflammation in mouse liver

Introduction Alcohol and tobacco are frequently co-abused. Tobacco smoke increases alcoholic steatosis in apoE(−/−) mice. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4000 chemicals, but it is unknown which compounds in tobacco smoke play a major role in increasing alcoholic steatosis.
Rapid determination of kinetic parameters for the thermal degradation of high polymers utilizing a computerized thermogravimetric analyzer-mass spectrometer system†

A thermogravimetric analyzer and a mass spectrometer are operated in a tandem mode for mass spectrometric thermal analysis (MTA) of high polymers. During the course of an analysis, the weight loss of the sample under investigation is recorded with respect to increasing sample temperature by the thermogravimetric analyzer. Simultaneously, the evolved gaseous thermal decomposition products are introduced into the mass spectrometer which records mass spectra repetitively at scan speeds of the operator's choice. The mass spectrometer is coupled to a computer for continuous on-line data acquisition, thus producing a complete mass spectrometric record of the released breakdown products. All original data are stored on magnetic tapes for subsequent processing employing a variety of computer programs. The computerized MTA technique allows the characterization of complex and simultaneous thermal degradation reactions. The rate of evolution for identified components as measured by the mass spectrometer and the total weight of volatilized products are used in the kinetic analysis of degradation reactions. A program for a programmable calculator that permits rapid calculation for order of reaction n and activation energy E has been developed. The results of the kinetic analysis from MTA data are compared to those obtained employing the multiple heating rate method. Zur massenspektrometrischen Thermoanalyse (MTA) von Hochpolymeren werden ein thermogravimetrisches Analysengerat und ein Massenspektrometer gleichzeitig betrieben. Der Gewichtsverlust der untersuchten Probe wird wahrend des Verlaufs einer Analyse fur ansteigende Temperatur vom thermogravimetrischen Analysengerat aufgezeichnet. Gleichzeitig werden die fluchtigen thermischen Zersetzungsprodukte in den Massenspektrometer eingefuhrt, welcher mit vorbestimmbarer Frequenz kontinuierlich aufeinanderfolgende Massenspektren aufnimmt. Fur eine direkte und kontinuierliche Datenaufzeichnung ist der Massenspektrometer mit einem Computer gekoppelt und erstellt auf diese Weise eine vollstandige Analyse der entstehenden Zersetzungsprodukte. Alle Originaldaten werden fur die nachfolgende Datenverarbeitung, fur welche Computerprogramme zur Verfugung stehen, auf Magnetband festgehalten. Die automatisierte MTA-Methode ermoglicht die Charakterisierung von komplexen, gleichzeiting verlaufenden thermischen Zersetzungsreaktionen. Die Bildungsgeschwindigkeit von identifizierten Bestandteilen, mit dem Massenspektrometer ermittelt, und das Gesamtgewicht der abgegebenen Bestandteile werden zur Analyse der Kinetik der Zersetzungsreaktion verwendet. Fur eine schnelle Ermittlung der Reaktionsordnung n und der Aktivierungsenergie E wurde ein Programm fur eine programmierbare Rechenmaschine entwickelt. Die auf MTA-Daten beruhenden Ergebnisse der kinetischen Analyse werden mit denen verglichen, die bei verschiedenen Aufheizungsgeschwindigkeiten erhalten werden.
Turbo code performance in partial-band jamming

Monte Carlo simulations model the effects of partial-band jamming on turbo code performance over a slow frequency-hopped spread spectrum signal. Decoders using both hard and soft decision variables corrupted by additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) are considered. Modulations include both binary phase shift keying (BPSK) and differentially coherent BPSK (DPSK). The bit error rate (BER) performance is measured in channels with negligible levels of thermal noise and in channels with similar levels of jammer and thermal noise. The optimum jammer occupancy is measured and found to be consistent with theoretical predictions. The decoder performance is improved by using side-information or by clipping the decision variable. Optimum clipping levels are estimated.
Equivalent dipole source imaging of brain electric activity by means of parametric projection filter.

In the present study, spatial filters for inverse estimation of an equivalent dipole layer from the scalp-recorded potentials have been explored for their suitability in achieving high-resolution electroencephalogram (EEG) imaging. The performance of the parametric projection filter (PPF), which we propose to use for high-resolution EEG imaging, has been evaluated by computer simulations in the presence of a priori information on noise. An inhomogeneous three-concentric-sphere head model was used in the present simulation study to represent the head volume conductor. An equivalent dipole layer was used to model brain electric sources and estimated from the scalp potentials. Various noise conditions were simulated and the parametric projection filter was compared with standard regularization procedures such as the truncated singular value decomposition (TSVD) and the Tikhonov regularization (TKNV). The present simulation results suggest that the proposed method performs better than that of commonly used inverse regularization techniques, such as the general inverse using the TSVD and the TKNV, when the correlation between the original source distribution and the noise distribution is low, and performs similarly when the correlation is high. A method for determining the optimum regularization parameter, which can be applied to parametric inverse techniques, has also been developed. © 2001 Biomedical Engineering Society. PAC01: 8757Nk, 0230Zz, 8719Nn, 0260Dc
Secondary Popular Culture

In the context of “primary process” assumptions concerning mass distributed culture, the idea of “secondary process” assumptions is developed. A secondary popular culture process (1) is focused on the time period after “legitimate” distribution is conventionally considered complete, (2) treats “finished” cultural materials as raw materials, (3) takes for granted the design and actualization features of “legitimate” production and distribution (which is tantamount to “sacredness”), (4) “turns over” nationally (and internationally) produced wants (“markets”) at the local level for local profit, and (5) creates localized occupational, professional, and stylistic identities which are unanticipated consequences of the centralized producer's work. The idea is then illustrated through a brief discussion of the author's research concerning local popular music performers.
The Development And Use Of The Concept Of A Sexually Transmitted Disease Core

A small proportion of people experiencing a sexually transmitted disease (STD), who are frequently infected or often transmit the infection, has been referred to as the "core." Though a prominent paradigm in the epidemiology of STDs, there is confusion about the meaning of the core. The term has been used to refer variously to people who are infected a large proportion of the time, infect more than one other person, are repeatedly infected, or are prostitutes or their clients and to geographic areas with large numbers of cases. Three perspectives that have contributed to the development of the concept of an STD core were identified: mathematical, clinical-epidemiologic, and sociocultural. These different perspectives share the common aim of identifying strategic points of intervention to reduce STDs. The value of the concept of an STD core will ultimately derive from its utility in lowering STD rates.
The behavior of a hybrid fixed‐point method in a chemical process design environment

Resolution des equations de conception par une methode hybride utilisant les methodes de Newton et de Schubert (1970). Application a la resolution d'une serie de problemes de points de rosee d'un melange ternaire avec thermodynamique non ideale
A novel non-overlapping bi-clustering algorithm for network generation using living cell array data

Motivation: The living cell array quantifies the contribution of activated transcription factors upon the expression levels of their target genes. The direct manipulation of the regulatory mechanisms offers enormous possibilities for deciphering the machinery that activates and controls gene expression. We propose a novel bi-clustering algorithm for generating non-overlapping clusters of reporter genes and conditions and demonstrate how this information can be interpreted in order to assist in the construction of transcription factor interaction networks. Contact: Yannis@rci.rutgers.edu
A "simple" option in the surgical treatment of congenital scoliosis.

COMMENTARY ON: Li X-F, Liu Z-D, Hu G-Y, et al. Posterior unilateral pedicle subtraction osteotomy of hemivertebra for correction of the adolescent congenital spinal deformity. Spine J 2011;11:111–118 ( in this issue ).
Cable TV and viewer selectivity

(1978). Cable TV and viewer selectivity. Journal of Broadcasting: Vol. 22, No. 2, pp. 167-177.
DFT-based frequency acquisition algorithm for large carrier offsets in mobile satellite receivers

A new automatic frequency control (AFC) algorithm suitable for digital satellite receivers to counter-act large carrier offsets is presented. The proposed two-step scheme uses a low-resolution discrete complex Fourier transform (DFT) for coarse acquisition and a conventional feed forward (FF) estimator for fine tracking. Results from computer simulations are provided to demonstrate the capability of the algorithm.
Restoring a Jarrah Forest Understorey Vegetation after Bauxite Mining in Western Australia

The Southwest of Western Australia is one of the world’s biodiversity hotspots. In the jarrah forest there are at least 300–400 plant species in vegetation that is typically mined and as many as 163 species per 0.1 ha. Hence, restoring the plant species to post-mining areas is seen as a priority. Approximately 70% of understorey richness is returned via the direct transfer of fresh topsoil. Additions of provenance-correct seeds of between 78 and 113 native jarrah forest species add significantly to post-mining species richness. Many of the broadcast seeds receive a prebroadcast heat or smoke treatment to increase germinability. Approximately 20 additional species are produced by vegetative multiplication or tissue culture and planted into restored areas. Though sequential improvements during the past 30 years, Alcoa now achieves its target to establish in restored areas the same number of native plant species per 80 m2 as the natural forest. Resampling of permanent plots revealed that species composition of older post-mining areas does not become more similar to unmined forest over one to three decades. Few species (mostly orchids) establish after the first year of restoration and adherence to the initial floristic composition model of forest succession applies to jarrah forest mine site restoration in Western Australia. Alcoa’s strategy, therefore, is to maximize the diversity of understorey species in newly restored sites at the first attempt. Future research will investigate methods to further increase the density of the fire resprouter species, a group of species currently under-represented in the restored bauxite mining sites.
Meta-design for sensible information

Many content management systems today do not take into account how the information is to be used. These tools, and the designers who use them, must adapt to the new environment in which we live. Designers can not be present at all times to craft each presentation. Likewise, systems must support the design process to ensure the consistent and timely presentation of information in a variety of contexts. These systems need to provide information fragments for reuse in a variety of contexts. In addition, these information fragments need to have a “sense of themselves” in order to be able to render properly in these different contexts. These different situations each have their own requirements on the information. The information, therefore, must be carefully designed and can not be automatically derived. Content management systems must support sensible fragments of information that can be presented in different contexts so that it is relevant to the task at hand and to the device on which it is rendered.
Prolonged mating in prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) increases likelihood of ovulation and embryo number.

Prairie voles are induced ovulators that mate frequently in brief bouts over a period of approximately 24 h. We examined 1) impact of mating duration on ovulation and embryo number, 2) incidence of fertilization, 3) temporal pattern of embryo development, 4) embryo progression through the reproductive tract over time, and 5) embryo development in culture. Mating was videotaped to determine first copulation, and the ovaries were examined and the reproductive tracts flushed at 6, 8, 10, 12, 16, 20, and 24 h and 2, 3, and 4 days after first copulation. The number of mature follicles and fresh corpora lutea and the number and developmental stage of embryos were quantified. One, two-, and four-cell embryos were cultured in Whitten's medium. Mature follicles were present at the earliest time examined (6 h). Thirty-eight percent of females that had been paired for /= 12 h after the first copulation ovulated. Virtually all (> 99%) oocytes recovered from females paired for >/= 12 h after first copulation were fertilized. Pairing time after first copulation and mean copulation-bout duration were significant (p /= 12 h, although some females showed exceptional sensitivity not predicted by the variables quantified. Prolonged mating for longer than 12 h increased the total embryos produced. This mechanism likely has adaptive significance for increasing offspring number.
New notes from underground

An American underground man examines arguments to evidence his thesis that Huxley's ‘really revolutionary revolution in the souls and flesh of human beings’ is being fomented by respected scientific rationalists. Believing that Homo sapiens is an evolutionary error, these benevolent intellectuals wish to alter the human gene pool in order to circumvent genosuicide. Mindful of the veridical knowledge of man issuing from current research in the biological and neurosciences, the underground man contends that these precursors of mankind's second genesis are gradually undermining resistance to the transition from natural to artificial selection of the human genotype by disinheriting the collective mind of the superannuated mythologems controlling it: the practitioners of normal science being latter‐day governors or puppeteers exhibiting radically new empirical models of cosmos and man in the shadows of a contemporary Platonic cave. Seeking to awaken the educated public to ominous events of evolutionary enormit...
Factors Associated with Subjective Quality of Life of Adults with Autism Spectrum Disorder: Self-Report Versus Maternal Reports

We examined factors related to subjective quality of life (QoL) of adults with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) aged 25–55 (n = 60), using the World Health Organization Quality of Life measure (WHOQOL-BREF). We used three different assessment methods: adult self-report, maternal proxy-report, and maternal report. Reliability analysis showed that adults with ASD rated their own QoL reliably. QoL scores derived from adult self-reports were more closely related to those from maternal proxy-report than from maternal report. Subjective factors such as perceived stress and having been bullied frequently were associated with QoL based on adult self-reports. In contrast, level of independence in daily activities and physical health were significant predictors of maternal reports of their son or daughter’s QoL.
The National Head and Spinal Cord Injury Survey: assessment of some uncertainties affecting the findings

The estimates from the National Head and Spinal Cord Injury Survey, like estimates from other studies, are subject to many uncertainties and must be viewed as conditional. This article provides a list of conditions that affect estimates from studies. For this survey, two structural limitations are discussed. The first is the exclusion from the survey of persons who were fatally injured and did not receive hospital inpatient care (for instance, individuals who were dead on arrival at the hospital). The second is the exclusion from the survey of persons who were injured before 1970. Also, uncertainties in the data of the survey due to nonresponse and variability between data collectors are discussed.
Enzootic Arbovirus Surveillance in Forest Habitat and Phylogenetic Characterization of Novel Isolates of Gamboa Virus in Panama.

Landscape changes occurring in Panama, a country whose geographic location and climate have historically supported arbovirus transmission, prompted the hypothesis that arbovirus prevalence increases with degradation of tropical forest habitats. Investigations at four variably degraded sites revealed a diverse array of potential mosquito vectors, several of which are known vectors of arbovirus pathogens. Overall, 675 pools consisting of 25,787 mosquitoes and representing 29 species from nine genera (collected at ground and canopy height across all habitats) were screened for cytopathic viruses on Vero cells. We detected four isolates of Gamboa virus (family:Bunyaviridae; genus:Orthobunyavirus) from pools of Aedeomyia squamipennis captured at canopy level in November 2012. Phylogenetic characterization of complete genome sequences shows the new isolates to be closely related to each other with strong evidence of reassortment among the M segment of Panamanian Gamboa isolates and several other viruses of this group. At the site yielding viruses, Soberania National Park in central Panama, 18 mosquito species were identified, and the predominant taxa included A. squamipennis,Coquillettidia nigricans, and Mansonia titillans.
The Electroencephalographic Examination Essential Historical, Physical and Behavioral Data

(1962). The Electroencephalographic Examination Essential Historical, Physical and Behavioral Data. American Journal of EEG Technology: Vol. 2, No. 2, pp. 59-64.
The circle of terror: strategic localizations of global media terror meta-discourses in the US, India and Scotland:

This critical discourse analysis (CDA) examines media commentary on terror events in three countries in which the events occurred – the US, India and Scotland – to explore and compare the media’s r...
Numerical Calculations and Measurements of Energy Transduction in Electrically Exploded Ni/Al Laminates

The electrical heating of Ni/Al laminate foils allows interrogation of phenomena at heating rates as high as 10 12 K/s. In the 2011 Fall MRS meeting, we reported on emission spectra from rapidly heated Ni/Al laminates resolved temporally over 350 ns, which provided qualitative evidence of rapid and exothermic vapor phase mixing of Ni and Al in these experiments which we term electrical explosions. These results were significant, because thermal diffusion processes normally limit Ni/Al reactions to much slower energy release rates, potentially limiting their applications. Here we present further evidence of exothermic Ni/Al mixing, quantified by experimental velocity measurements of encapsulation material and interpreted by numerical calculations of energy partitioning into different processes. These calculations agreed well with experiments from different Al, Cu, and Ni samples, sputter-deposited and lithographically patterned into bow-tie bridge structures. Velocity measurements of up to 5 km/s for 11.5 μm thick parylene encapsulation layers were accurately predicted using a single, empirical fitting parameter which depended on the electrical circuit used. The calculations also agreed with encapsulation layers accelerated by electrically exploded Ni/Al laminates as long as an additional 1.2 kJ/g of energy was included in the model. This value is precisely the enthalpy of mixing between Ni and Al, and therefore quantifies the transduction of energy into encapsulation layer kinetic energy.
The effect of 45°C hyperthermia on the membrane fluidity of cells of several lines

DYNLACHT, J. R., AND FOX, M. H., The Effect of 450C Hyperthermia on the Membrane Fluidity of Cells of Several Lines. Radiat. Res. 130, 55-60 (1992). The membrane fluidity of cells of human (AG1522 human foreskin fibroblasts), rodent [Chinese hamster ovary (CHO) and radiation-induced mouse fibrosarcomal, and feline (Crandall feline kidney) cell lines after heating at 450C was measured by flow cytometry. In addition, a heat-resistant variant of radiation-induced mouse fibrosarcoma cells and two heat-sensitive CHO strains were studied. Fluorescence polarization of the plasma membrane probe trimethylammonium-diphenylhexatriene was used as a measure of membrane fluidity. The sensitivity of all cell lines to 450C hyperthermia was compared. The baseline membrane fluidity varied among the cell lines, but did not correlate with sensitivity to hyperthermia. However, CHO cells, especially the heat-sensitive mutants, had the largest increase in membrane fluidity after heating at 450C, while the heat-resistant mouse fibrosarcoma variants and Crandall feline kidney cells resisted changes in fluidity. In general, the more resistant the cell line was to killing by heat, the more resistant it was to changes in membrane fluidity. ? 1992 Academic Press, Inc.
Gastric reflux during perfusion of the proximal small bowel.

Reflux into the stomach during constant perfusion of the proximal small bowel was found to be quite variable. The percentage of reflux increased with: proximal location of the infusion site; rate of infusion higher than 2 ml per min; and anticholinergic medication. Composition and osmolality of the test solution had no clear-cut effect on reflux. An oral bolus of 500 ml resulted in temporary decrease of reflux of the perfused test solution. Infusion at the ligament of Treitz resulted either in high reflux (comparable to duodenal perfusion) or in low reflux similar to jejunal perfusion. In order to decrease variability of results between and during perfusion studies of the proximal small bowel, at infusion rates greater than 2 ml per min, it is suggested that the infusion tip be located beyond the ligament of Treitz.
Assent and Dissent: Ethical Considerations in Research With Toddlers

In accordance with ethical principles and standards, researchers conducting studies with children are expected to seek assent and respect their dissent from participation. Little attention has been given to assent and dissent in research with toddlers, who have limited cognitive and emotional capabilities. We discuss research with toddlers in the context of assent and dissent and propose guidelines to ensure that research with toddlers still adheres to ethical principles. These guidelines include designing engaging studies, monitoring refusal and distress, and partnering with parents. Research with toddlers requires flexibility and creativity to respect toddlers in the context of their developmental capabilities.
RECIPROCAL CHANGES IN STEMI: ISCHEMIA AT DISTANCE OR RECIPROCAL REFLECTION OF ST-ELEVATION

Background: Reciprocal ST-depression in ST-elevation myocardial infarction(STEMI) represent either extensive primary ischemia, ischemia at a distance through collaterals diverting blood to the infarcted region or just a benign electrical phenomenon mirroring ST-elevation. Hypothesis: Test if
Salivary Duct Carcinoma and Invasive Ductal Carcinoma of the Breast: A Comparative Immunohistochemical Study

Salivary duct carcinoma (SDC) is a high-grade salivary gland malignancy with great morphological resemblance to invasive ductal carcinoma (IDC) of the breast. Rarely, female patients may have a past history of both SDC and IDC. When these patients present with distant metastasis, accurate identification of the primary tumor is particularly difficult. Additionally, rare metastasis of SDC to the breast and IDC to the salivary (parotid) gland can also present a diagnostic challenge. Our aim was to develop an immunohistochemical panel that reliably distinguishes SDC from IDC. We included all SDCs diagnosed from 1989 to 2016 (23 cases) and 29 treatment naive and histologically similar IDCs. All cases were stained with androgen receptor (AR), estrogen receptor-alpha (ER-α), progesterone receptor (PR), HER-2, CK5/6, p63, and beta-catenin. The great majority (> 90%) of both SDCs and IDCs reacted positively to AR. The main discrepancy in the immunohistochemical profiles was a distinctly different reactivity to ER-α, PR and HER-2. While 28 IDCs (96.6%) reacted positively to ER-α and/or PR, the majority expressing both (82.8%) with a moderate to strong staining intensity, only 2 SDCs expressed ER-α (8.7%) and 5 others expressed PR (21.7%) with only one case expressing both (P value < 0.05). On the other hand, 8 SDC (34.8%) were positive for HER-2 while none of the IDCs were positive (P value < 0.05). ER-α, PR, and HER-2 may be helpful to distinguish SDC from IDC. Positive reactivity to ER-α, PR or both and negative HER-2 favors a diagnosis of IDC while ER-α, PR negative, HER-2 positive tumors are more likely SDC.
Abstract 16340: Experimental, Systems and Computational Approaches to Understand the Microrna-Mediated Reparative Potential of Cardiac Progenitor Cell-Derived Exosomes From Pediatric Patients

Exosomes have shown a great potential in improving cardiac function post myocardial infarction (MI). Recently, cardiac progenitor cells (CPCs) derived exosomes have shown promising results in myocardial healing post MI. Here we demonstrate novel strategies to improve the efficacy of pediatric CPCs derived exosomes in myocardial healing post Ischemia-reperfusion (IR) injury by studying the role of donor CPCs age and hypoxic environment, and used computational modeling to predict potential microRNA mediated mechanisms. C-kit positive human CPCs from the right atrial appendage of the children undergoing heart surgeries for congenital heart defects were isolated, cultured and then subjected to hypoxia and normoxia. Groups were created based upon the age of child - Neonate (Day1 - 1month), Infant (1month-1year) and Child (1year- 5years). Isolated exosomes were delivered to athymic rats following IR injury. 2D Echo at day 3 post IR suggested improved function in neonatal hypoxic and normoxic groups compared to controls (P
Coda: True and Imaginary History in Django Unchained

The book ends with a study of Quentin Tarantino’s film Django Unchained. This final chapter acts in part as a response to Carolyn Dinshaw’s groundbreaking study, Getting Medieval: Sexualities and Communities, Pre- and Postmodern. Her provocation to think about what it means to “get medieval”—borrowing the line from Tarantino’s Pulp Fiction—ends with a return to the film itself. Dinshaw found the film to be lacking in terms of how it deals with sexuality, particularly homosexual relationships. Django offers the ideal impetus to revisit the project of reading “the medieval’s” relationship to radical readings of contemporary issues through the film’s reassessments of race relations and the Siegfried myth. Vernon argues that Django adroitly utilizes the flexibility of medieval mythology to question the presentation of African-Americans within the founding narratives of the nation. This final chapter demonstrates the longevity of the questions at stake through the entirety of The Black Middle Ages.
The Global Click Fraud Industry

Click fraud is arguably the cyberworld’s biggest scam. How do click fraudsters frame their actions? What are the characteristics of click fraud victims? How do formal and informal institutions affect click fraudsters’ actions? We address these questions by examining the contexts, mechanisms, and processes associated with the click fraudsters’ profitability and performance. We also discuss some attempts to criminalize and stigmatize click fraudsters.
Efficacy of negative feedback in the HPA axis predicts recovery from acute challenges

The glucocorticoid stress response mediates a suite of physiological and behavioural changes that allow vertebrates to cope with transient stressors. Chronically elevated glucocorticoid levels are known to result in a variety of organismal costs, but relatively little is known about the downstream effects of mounting a series of brief, acute spikes in circulating glucocorticoids. Conceptual models of stress suggest that repeated acute stressors might produce 'wear-and-tear' on the stress-response system when encountered in sequence. We used a novel technique to experimentally induce acute corticosterone spikes on either three or six consecutive days in incubating tree swallows. Consistent with the 'wear-and-tear' hypothesis, we found that (i) a sequence of corticosterone spikes produced cumulative effects on corticosterone regulation, (ii) treatment frequency predicted the severity of consequences, and (iii) individual variation in the ability to terminate the stress response through negative feedback predicted the duration of physiological disruption in the group that experienced the most frequent challenges. Our results illustrate the importance of assessing multiple aspects of the hormonal stress response and have implications for understanding both individual and population resilience to repeated transient stressors.
Design and Manufacturing of Variable Stiffness Mattress

Abstract Sleep quality are found to be decreased in the past decades from several surveys. And researches conducted that uncomfortable mattress can be one of the important reasons causing sleeping problems. This paper presents the design and manufacturing of variable stiffness mattress with cellular structure to maintain uniform body support. The relation between the hexagonal honeycomb thickness and stiffness is studied and tested. The author applies image analysis technique to extract and digitize the information from the body load distribution map. Voxelization is used to determine the thickness of each unit hexagon. A comparison between the designed mattress and current existing mattress is given based on their deformation under same load. With the study of the unit cell and voxelization technique, our designed mattress has less variation on deformation compare to the uniform mattress which indicates we have more control on the deformation with this proposed methodology.
Evaluating the repertoire of immune checkpoint markers expressed on peripheral and ascites CD8+ T cells in ovarian cancer.

5571Background: Understanding the immune checkpoint marker repertoire can facilitate development of therapeutic strategies to improve efficacy of immune-based therapies. We used a novel high-dimens...
Evolution, not transgenerational plasticity, explains the divergence of acorn ant thermal tolerance across an urban-rural temperature cline

Disentangling the mechanisms of phenotypic shifts in response to environmental change is critical, and although studies increasingly disentangle phenotypic plasticity from evolutionary change, few explore the potential role for transgenerational plasticity in this context. Here, we evaluate the potential role that transgenerational plasticity plays in phenotypic divergence of acorn ants in response to urbanization. F2 generation worker ants (offspring of lab-born queens) exhibited similar divergence among urban and rural populations as F1 generation worker ants (offspring of field-born queens) indicating that evolutionary differentiation rather than transgenerational plasticity was responsible for shifts towards higher heat tolerance and diminished cold tolerance in urban acorn ants. Hybrid matings between urban and rural populations provided further insight into the genetic architecture of thermal adaptation. Heat tolerance of hybrids more resembled the urban-urban pure type, whereas cold tolerance of hybrids more resembled the rural-rural pure type. As a consequence, thermal tolerance traits in this system appear to be influenced by dominance rather than being purely additive traits, and heat and cold tolerance might be determined by separate genes. Though transgenerational plasticity does not explain divergence of acorn ant thermal tolerance, its role in divergence of other traits and across other urbanization gradients merits further study.
Assessing groundwater sustainability under changing climate using isotopic tracers and climate modelling, southwest Ohio, USA

Groundwater, an essential resource, is likely to change with global warming because of changes in the CO2 levels, temperature and precipitation. Here, we combine water isotope geochemistry with cli...
Current Trends in Logic Programming: Prospects and Promises (Abstract)

Over the last decade significant theoretical and practical advances have been made in several key logic programming technologies, notably abstract interpretation, program transformations, constraint processing, tabling and semantics of negation. These advances have contributed to the development of a new generation of powerful and efficient logic programming systems that are beginning to be deployed as the implementation platform in state-of-the-art tools in different application domains.
High-resolution Fe–Ti oxide thermometry applied to single-clast pumices from the Bishop Tuff: a re-examination of compositional variations in phenocryst phases with temperature

Numerous analyses of multiple ilmenite, titanomagnetite, sanidine, plagioclase, biotite, orthopyroxene, and clinopyroxene crystals (when present) in each of 24 single-clast pumices from the Bishop Tuff (BT), CA are presented, together with whole-rock compositions on the same single clasts. Data from multiple Fe–Ti oxide grains in each sample, coupled with an assessment of analytical uncertainty, show that there is a single population of ilmenite and titanomagnetite in each of 20 samples and no more than two populations of ilmenite and/or titanomagnetite in the remaining four. A statistical evaluation of microprobe uncertainty (for beam conditions of 15 kV and 10 nA) constrains the minimum number of ilmenite (≥ 21) and titanomagnetite (≥ 56) analyses required to obtain Fe–Ti two-oxide temperatures with propagated uncertainties ≤ ± 10 °C. Thermometry results confirm a continuous range (~ 700–800 °C) across the BT deposit. Plagioclase displays a bimodal compositional pattern, where a predominantly sodic (An14–15) vs. calcic (An22–23) population is found in single clasts where pyroxene is absent vs. present; the latter coincides with geochemical evidence for mixing between high-SiO2 rhyolite and less differentiated melts as previously documented in the literature. When sanidine rims are paired with plagioclase, calculated two-feldspar temperatures (~ 690–780 °C) are strongly correlated (R2 = 0.94) with Fe–Ti two-oxide temperatures. Application of plagioclase–liquid hygrometry reveals a systematic decrease in melt water content (~ 7.2–4.1 wt%) with increasing temperature across the BT deposit, consistent with experiments from the literature that show cotectic crystallization of quartz–sanidine–plagioclase in rhyolite melt requires a concomitant decrease of ~ 3 wt% H2O between 700 and 800 °C at 200 MPa. Single-clast, whole-rock concentrations of some elements (e.g., Rb) correlate strongly with Fe–Ti oxide temperature (R2 = 0.95). The Mg# in biotite also correlates strongly with temperature (R2 = 0.97), as do the Mg# values in orthopyroxene and clinopyroxene with whole-rock Mg# (R2 = 0.6 and 0.8, respectively) and melt water content (R2 = 0.7 for both). Evidence points to biotite crystallization in all BT samples from high-SiO2 rhyolite melt, which was already continuously zoned in composition and temperature prior to mixing with less differentiated melts, as previously noted in the literature. In contrast, several lines of evidence, including hydrous phase-equilibrium experiments on rhyolites from the literature, show that both pyroxenes in BT pumices co-crystallized with calcic plagioclase (~ An21–29), in equilibrium with both titanomagnetite and ilmenite, after mixing between less differentiated melt(s) and relatively hot (≥ 755 °C) high-SiO2 rhyolite.
Experiences with a hybrid CS1 for non-majors

Technology has transformed education in the past decade to the point that institutions can now provide students with convenience and flexibility through alternative course delivery formats. Online courses provide interactive, multimedia rich content, assessments, and communication tools, but these courses may not be for everyone. Hybrid courses, a combination of traditional, face-to-face activities and online activities and communication, are an alternative delivery format that provides the opportunity to interact in person but maintains the flexibility that reduced seat time provides. In this study, we look at the design and delivery of a hybrid CS1 course for non-majors and the special considerations that arise due to the nature of the subject.
Precise mapping of new group I introns in tRNA genes

Bacterial tRNA have been found interrupted at various positions in the anticodon loop by group I introns, in four types. The primary bioinformatic tool for group I intron discovery is a covariance model that can identify conserved features in the catalytic core and can sometimes identify the typical uridine residue at the -1 position, preceding the 5-prime splice site, but cannot identify the typical guanidine residue at the omega position, preceding the 3-prime splice site, to achieve precise mapping. One approach to complete the automation of group I intron mapping is to focus instead on the exons, which is enabled by the regularity of tRNAs. We develop a software module, within a larger package (tFind) aimed at mapping bacterial tRNA and tmRNA genes precisely, that expands this list of four known classes of intron-interrupted tRNAs to 21 cases. A new covariance model for these introns is presented. The wobble base pair formed by the -1 uridine is considered a determinant of the 5-prime splice site, yet one reasonably large new type bears a cytidine nucleotide at that position.
Applications of atomic layer deposition and chemical vapor deposition for perovskite solar cells

Metal halide perovskite solar cells (PSCs) have rapidly evolved over the past decade to become a photovoltaic technology on the cusp of commercialization. In the process, numerous fabrication strategies have been explored with the goal of simultaneously optimizing for device efficiency, stability, and scalability. Atomic layer deposition (ALD) and chemical vapor deposition (CVD) have proven to be effective tools for the fabrication of various components of PSCs. This review article examines the application of ALD and CVD for the deposition and modification of charge transport layers, passivation layers, absorber materials, encapsulants, and electrodes. It outlines the use of these vapor deposition techniques in state-of-the-art, multi-junction solar cell devices, and also contains a discussion of the stability of metal halide perovskite materials under ALD and CVD conditions based on in situ characterization reported in literature. This article concludes with insights into future ALD and CVD research directions that could be undertaken to further aid the deployment of PSCs in emerging solar photovoltaic markets.