cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
High Ulnar Nerve Injuries: Nerve Transfers to Restore Function

Peripheral nerve injuries are challenging problems. Nerve transfers are one of many options available to surgeons caring for these patients, although they do not replace tendon transfers, nerve graft, or primary repair in all patients. Distal nerve transfers for the treatment of high ulnar nerve injuries allow for a shorter reinnervation period and improved ulnar intrinsic recovery, which are critical to function of the hand.
Metal Based Nonvolatile Field‐Effect Transistors

The reduction of metals from their oxides through solid electrochemical reactions usually requires a high temperature above 800 °C and a specially designed electrochemical structure. It is demonstrated that, in a simple field-effect transistor (FET) structure, the redox reaction between Co metal and CoOx is reversible under a small electric field and can be achieved at a moderate temperature below 200 °C. The FETs functioning through the reversible redox reaction show nonvolatile behavior and a high on/off ratio of about 105. Moreover, the FETs show a threshold resistance switching behavior at high resistance states, but with opposite switching directions compared to normal metal/oxide/metal structures. The electric field induced metal–oxide transition may also be used for other energy storage applications.
Label free detection of optogenetically stimulated cellular activity by low coherence interferometry(Conference Presentation)

Detecting cellular activity in sub-millisecond timescale and micrometer resolution without using invasive means has been a long standing goal in the study of cellular networks. Here, we have employed phase sensitive low coherence interferometry for detecting optogenetically stimulated activity of cells. Nanoscale changes in optical path length (due to change in refractive index and changes in cell thickness) occur when cells are activated, which we aim to detect by phase sensitive low coherence interferometry. A low coherence interferometry and patch-clamp electrophysiology systems were integrated with an inverted fluorescence microscope. Blue laser beam was coupled to the electrophysiology-interferometric detection system for optogenetic stimulation. The phase-sensitive measurements were carried out on Channelrhodopsin-2 sensitized cells (identified by YFP fluorescence) as well as control cells in reflection mode for different intensities and exposures of optogenetic stimulation beam. This method offers good temporal and spatial resolution without using exogenous labeling. Results of studies on all optical stimulation and detection of cellular activity will be presented. Interpretation of the optical activity signals will be discussed in context with changes in cell physiology during stimulation. We will also discuss the potential sources of various artifacts in optical/electrical detection of cellular activity during optical stimulation.
Surface analysis of hydrogel contact lenses by ESCA.

We used electron spectroscopy for chemical analysis (ESCA) to examine the surface chemistry of polymacon, tefilcon, and bufilcon hydrogel contact lenses. Worn and unworn water-cleaned and surfactant-cleaned lenses were compared. The surface chemistry of unworn lenses, which were used as controls, consisted of approximately 70% carbon, 25% oxygen, and < 10% other elements (i.e., silicon, sulfur, sodium, nitrogen, and zinc). In general, surfactant cleaning removed silicon contamination, but left a residue containing sulfur and zinc. The increase in the nitrogen/carbon (N/C) ratio for worn bufilcon and polymacon lenses was significantly greater than the N/C ratio for unworn bufilcon and polymacon lenses. As a group the worn ionic lenses (bufilcon) showed a greater N/C ratio than the worn nonionic lenses (polymacon, tefilcon). The nitrogen that appears on all worn lenses probably represents adherent as well as adsorbed surface proteins. The highest N/C ratios were found on a pair of pathologically deposited lenses and on the lens with the longest wearing time (2 years). For the bufilcon and polymacon lenses, the differences observed in the ESCA data for the unworn and worn lenses suggest that contact lenses begin interacting with the tear film within 1 minute (the shortest wearing time in this study).
AB0758 Subclinical Atherosclerosis is not Accelerated in Well-Controlled Ankylosing Spondylitis: Original Data and Meta-Analysis of Published Studies

Background Chronic inflammatory rheumatic diseases associate with increased risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) in part due to accelerated atherosclerosis. While this is well established for rheumatoid arthritis (1), data on ankylosing spondylitis (AS) is limited and the relative contribution of inflammation versus classical cardiovascular risk factors remains a matter of controversy (2). Objectives To address this controversy in an original, carefully designed study of subclinical atherosclerosis in AS patients, as well as in a meta-analysis of previous studies. Methods Atheromatic plaques in carotid and femoral arteries, carotid hypertrophy (intima-media thickness-IMT; cross sectional area) and carotid stiffness by ultrasound, as well as aortic stiffness by pulse wave velocity were examined in consecutive non-diabetic CVD-free, AS patients. Apparently healthy individuals carefully matched 1:1 with patients for age, gender, smoking, dyslipidemia and hypertension served as controls. A meta-analysis of those studies that examined subclinical atherosclerosis in AS patients versus controls with comparable CVD risk factors, published up to June 2014, was also performed. Studies were subsequently stratified according to the mean level of disease activity (BASDAI> or or Results In this contemporary cohort comprising of 67 AS patients (82% men), aged 47.5+12.5 years (mean ± SD), with median disease duration of 12 years and BASDAI of 1.8 (IQR 0.4-3.6), of whom 66% were receiving anti-TNF treatment, atheromatic plaques were slightly less prevalent compared to controls. Moreover, carotid hypertrophy and stiffness, as well as aortic stiffness, were comparable between patients and their matched controls. Meta-analysis and meta-regression analysis of 14 studies, including the present study, revealed that carotid IMT is significantly increased in AS patients versus controls. On the other hand, analysis of those studies examining also the presence of carotid plaques revealed no statistical difference in the relative risk of the presence of carotid plaques between AS patients and their matched controls. Interestingly, however, increased IMT was not evident in studies involving well-controlled patients (mean BASDAI 50% of anti-TNF-treated patients. Conclusions Subclinical atherosclerosis is not accelerated in well-controlled AS patients. References Peters MJ, et al. EULAR evidence-based recommendations for cardiovascular risk management in patients with rheumatoid arthritis and other forms of inflammatory arthritis. Ann Rheum Dis 2010;69:325-31. Mathieu S, et al. Cardiovascular profile in ankylosing spondylitis: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Arthritis Care Res 2011;4:557-63. Disclosure of Interest None declared
Assessment of the 2011 Virginia Earthquake Damage and Seismic Fragility Analysis of the Washington Monument

This paper is concerned with prediction of the probability of occurrence associated with various potential states of damage to the Washington Monument during future seismic events. A finite element...
Secret Shoppers Find Access To Providers And Network Accuracy Lacking For Those In Marketplace And Commercial Plans.

The adequacy of provider networks for plans sold through insurance Marketplaces established under the Affordable Care Act has received much scrutiny recently. Various studies have established that networks are generally narrow. To learn more about network adequacy and access to care, we investigated two questions. First, no matter the nominal size of a network, can patients gain access to primary care services from providers of their choice in a timely manner? Second, how does access compare to plans sold outside insurance Marketplaces? We conducted a “secret shopper” survey of 743 primary care providers from five of California’s nineteen insurance Marketplace pricing regions in the summer of 2015. Our findings indicate that obtaining access to primary care providers was generally equally challenging both inside and outside insurance Marketplaces. In less than 30 percent of cases were consumers able to schedule an appointment with an initially selected physician provider. Information about provider networ...
Longitudinal and Transversal Fields

The Helmholtz field decomposition of a field on entire space into the sum of a longitudinal (irrotational, curl-free) component and transversal (solenoidal, divergence-free) component is treated here. Corresponding decomposition of Maxwell equations and related topics are also discussed.
Double Elliptic Geometry

This chapter discusses double elliptic geometry. In Euclidean and hyperbolic geometry, the existence of parallel lines is a consequence of the theorem that states that the exterior angle of a triangle exceeds each opposite interior angle, and this theorem is a consequence of the assumption that straight lines are infinite. Hence, a system of geometry whose straight lines are finite could not have any parallel lines at all. A system where any two straight lines meet in two points is called double elliptic geometry. It is also known as elliptic geometry of the spherical type because one is made aware of its existence by considering relations involving the entire sphere. The largest circles on a sphere are those whose radii equal the radius of the sphere. They are called great circles. The concept of a two-dimensional system of geometry that, such as Euclidean and hyperbolic geometry, employs the terms point, straight line, plane, straight line segment, distance, angle, congruent, perpendicular, and so forth, and whose points, straight lines, and straight line segments have the same properties and relations as the points, great circles, and geodesic arcs on a sphere, is the concept of double elliptic plane geometry.
How neuroinflammation contributes to neurodegeneration.

Neurodegenerative diseases such as Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, and frontotemporal lobar dementia are among the most pressing problems of developed societies with aging populations. Neurons carry out essential functions such as signal transmission and network integration in the central nervous system and are the main targets of neurodegenerative disease. In this Review, I address how the neuron’s environment also contributes to neurodegeneration. Maintaining an optimal milieu for neuronal function rests with supportive cells termed glia and the blood-brain barrier. Accumulating evidence suggests that neurodegeneration occurs in part because the environment is affected during disease in a cascade of processes collectively termed neuroinflammation. These observations indicate that therapies targeting glial cells might provide benefit for those afflicted by neurodegenerative disorders.
Aron Beckerman's City of Light: writing French history and defining immigrant Jewish space in interwar Paris

This article examines the writing of a little-known, but prolific interwar immigrant eastern European Parisian Yiddish writer, Aron Beckerman, to demonstrate how Yiddish journalism played a pivotal role in defining Paris as a simultaneously French and Jewish space to immigrant Jews living in the city. Engaging urban historical theory on the communal-building effect that public space can have, this article argues that within Beckerman's writings on Paris – its history and specific places within the city – we see a Paris emerge that details a universalist republican identity, which, when read through a Jewish lens, leads simultaneously to a particular immigrant, Yiddish-speaking, leftist Jewish understanding of what it meant to be ‘French’.
Change the traditional way of Teaching Electric Drives Laboratory with design of experiment

This paper presents the authors' experience in flipping the traditional way of teaching Electric Drives Laboratory course using a component on design of experiment (DOE). Traditionally, the lab manual looks more like a cookbook. The inclusion of the DOE satisfies the “design” aspect of the ABET Student Outcome on “ability to design and conduct experiment, as well as to analyze and interpret data”. The challenge comes when limited information is “fed” to students and they are forced to “search” for available ingredients and to creatively “cook” a meal, and write down the recipe. A detailed lab flipping process with well-planned structural guidance will be reported, experience will be shared, and future plan will be proposed.
The technological rationality of the drone strike

ABSTRACTThe development of drone technology over the course of the twentieth century involves efforts to create both surveillance and weaponised unmanned aircraft. The contemporary Predator can thus best be understood as bringing together two intersecting trends in Western warfare into a single practice of lethal surveillance: information gathering and knowledge production and practices of targeting and killing. This article examines this development towards lethal surveillance by focusing on the technological character of the drone. Many analyses contemporary drone strikes argue that the drone is a marker or producer of a complex visual regime, especially with the screen and drone feed acting as a mediating technology. While important to understanding the drone, I argue that a focus on this visual regime often misses the technological rationality that underpins it. Placing the drone within a longer modern scientific development reveals the significance of the shift to lethal surveillance where practices ...
Resource-aware fault accommodation in spatially-distributed processes with sampled-data networked control systems

This paper addresses the problem of fault-tolerant stabilization of spatially-distributed systems with uncertain low-order dynamics, sensor-controller communication constraints, discretely-sampled state measurements and control actuator faults. An approximate finite-dimensional model that describes the dominant dynamics of the infinite-dimensional system is initially used to design a model-based event-triggered networked control system with a well-characterized stability-based communication-triggering threshold under the assumption that state measurements are continuously sampled. A modification of the communication threshold that takes into account the system's limited ability to monitor the state under discrete measurement sampling is then developed. Based on a forecast of the evolution of the model estimation error, an upper bound on the error growth over each sampling interval is obtained and to derive a tighter communication trigger that is used for sampled-data implementation. The modified threshold is explicitly characterized in terms of the fault magnitude, the model and controller design parameters, and the control actuator locations. Based on this characterization, resource-aware fault accommodation strategies are devised to achieve the desired balance between the fault-tolerant stabilization and reduced network utilization objectives. Finally, the results are illustrated using a diffusion-reaction process example.
Exploring the Meanings of Place Attachment Among Civically Engaged Puerto Rican Youth.

Although research has shown that place attachment may promote socially responsible behaviors, it has not been studied from the perspective of youth civic engagement. This study explored the meanings of community-based place attachment among civically-engaged Puerto Rican youth within an ethnic enclave. Photovoice methods were employed using a phenomenological design to enhance our understanding of the participants’ lived experiences. Findings suggest that community-based place attachment was characterized as multidimensional, identity-affirming, and embedded in participants’ narratives about personal involvement in local engagement. Implications for initiatives that actively engage youth in community change efforts and future research are presented.
Natural Areas, Regions, and Two Centuries of Environmental Change on the Great Plains

A careful reading of recent issues of the the journal in 2004, "that 'natural' places are Natural Areas Journal, the publication of the areas where human actions have minimally Natural Areas Association, will leave you with changed the communities and processes that the conclusion that humans are not a part occur there."1 In fact, the stated mission of the of natural areas. When humans do appear, Natural Areas Association is specifically "to it is either as disturbing agents, disrupting benefit and protect natural areas by minimizing the naturalness through, for example, the the human impact."2 introduction of exotic plants and animals, So by this definition, natural areas are or as managers, enhancing the naturalness places, often quite small places, that are held through, for example, prescribed burning. This out of time, protected remnants of plant is an explicit and purposeful exclusion: "We and animal communities that were once can probably all agree," wrote the editor of more widely distributed but have since been removed. This is, of course, an unimpeachable goal—the preservation of natural heritage
Zero Devisors in Commutative Rings

(1986). Zero Devisors in Commutative Rings. The American Mathematical Monthly: Vol. 93, No. 5, pp. 382-387.
Dose-Related Target Occupancy and Effects on Circuitry, Behavior, and Neuroplasticity of the Glycine Transporter-1 Inhibitor PF-03463275 in Healthy and Schizophrenia Subjects.

Abstract Background Glycine transporter-1 (GlyT1) inhibitors may ameliorate cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia. The dose-related occupancy and target engagement of the GlyT1 inhibitor PF-03463275 were studied to inform optimal dose selection for a clinical trial for cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia. Methods In substudy 1, the effects of PF-03463275 (10, 20, and 40 mg twice a day) on occupancy of GlyT1 were tested using positron emission tomography and 18F-MK-6577, and visual long-term potentiation (LTP) in schizophrenia patients (SZs) and healthy control subjects. Furthermore, the capacity of PF-03463275 to attenuate ketamine-induced disruption of working memory–related activation of a “working memory” circuit was tested only in healthy control subjects using functional magnetic resonance imaging. Subsequently, the effects of PF-03463275 (60 mg twice a day) on occupancy of GlyT1 and long-term potentiation were examined only in SZs (substudy 2). Results PF-03463275 at 10, 20, 40, and 60 mg twice a day produced ∼44%, 61%, 76%, and 83% GlyT1 occupancy, respectively, in SZs with higher ligand binding to GlyT1 in subcortical versus cortical regions. PF-03463275 did not attenuate any ketamine-induced effects but did improve working memory accuracy in healthy control subjects. PF-03463275 increased long-term potentiation only in SZs with peak effects at 40 mg twice a day (∼75% GlyT1 occupancy) and with a profile suggestive of an inverted U dose response. PF-03463275 was well-tolerated. Conclusions The dose-related GlyT1 occupancy of PF-03463275 is linear. While PF-03463275 did not show evidence of facilitating N-methyl-D-aspartate receptor function in the ketamine assay, it enhanced neuroplasticity in SZs. These findings provide support for a clinical trial to test the ability of PF-03463275 to enhance cognitive remediation toward addressing cognitive impairments associated with schizophrenia.
Fibrinogen in neurological diseases: mechanisms, imaging and therapeutics

The blood coagulation protein fibrinogen is deposited in the brain in a wide range of neurological diseases and traumatic injuries with blood-brain barrier (BBB) disruption. Recent research has uncovered pleiotropic roles for fibrinogen in the activation of CNS inflammation, induction of scar formation in the brain, promotion of cognitive decline and inhibition of repair. Such diverse roles are possible in part because of the unique structure of fibrinogen, which contains multiple binding sites for cellular receptors and proteins expressed in the nervous system. The cellular and molecular mechanisms underlying the actions of fibrinogen are beginning to be elucidated, providing insight into its involvement in neurological diseases, such as multiple sclerosis, Alzheimer disease and traumatic CNS injury. Selective drug targeting to suppress the damaging functions of fibrinogen in the nervous system without affecting its beneficial effects in haemostasis opens a new fibrinogen therapeutics pipeline for neurological disease.
Cardiotoxicity Associated with Thiazolidinediones

Diabetes mellitus (DM) affects over 135 million individuals worldwide and is associated with a number of serious complications that include cardiovascular disease (CVD). The majority of cases of DM are DM type 2 (DM2), which is a disorder of carbohydrate metabolism that is a result of both insulin resistance and pancreatic islet β-cell dysfunction. The thiazolidinediones (rosiglitazone and pioglitazone) activate peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-γ (PPARγ). PPAR-γ regulates transcription and gene expression for several elements involved in glucose and lipid metabolism. Through activation of PPAR-γ, thiazolidinediones improve insulin sensitivity and are therefore used in the treatment of DM2. Rosiglitazone and pioglitazone are comparable in their ability to improve glycemic control; however, they differ in their effects on lipid metabolism. Recently, the safety profile of the thiazolidinediones has been called into question by two meta-analyses of clinical trials with rosiglitazone that suggested an increased risk of myocardial infarction or death. An interim analysis of an ongoing prospective clinical trial has revealed inconclusive results regarding the risk of myocardial infarction; nonetheless, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (US FDA) has required the manufacturer to revise package labeling for rosiglitazone to warn of the potential risk. Neither a recent meta-analysis nor a prospective clinical trial of pioglitazone has demonstrated an increased risk of myocardial infarction. The mechanism behind the potential increase in myocardial infarction risk with rosiglitazone is still unknown. Animal studies have demonstrated positive and negative effects on the myocardium but have not indicated a risk of myocardial infarction. It has yet to be determined if the thiazolidinediones differential effects on lipid metabolism could contribute to differences in the risk of myocardial infarction. Multiple clinical trials and meta-analyses have demonstrated that both rosiglitazone and pioglitazone are associated with an increased risk of congestive heart failure (CHF). However, available evidence does not support a causal role. Rather it appears that these agents may merely exacerbate heart failure (HF) symptoms in patients with underlying left ventricular systolic dysfunction. The mechanism is likely a result of PPAR-γ activation of epithelial sodium channels (ENaCs) in the collecting duct leading to sodium and water retention with a resultant increase in edema. Therefore, neither agent should be used in patients with symptomatic HF and should be used with extreme caution, if used at all, in individuals with asymptomatic left ventricular dysfunction.
The function of ras genes in Saccharomyces cerevisiae.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the function of RAS genes in the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae and the components of the pathway in which it acts. Yeast RAS proteins share considerable homology with the mammalian RAS proteins. A short sequence including an invariant cysteine residue is always found at the carboxyl end of all RAS proteins. Deletion of either RAS1 or RAS2 alone has no deleterious effects on the growth of yeast strains in rich media, while deletion of both the genes is lethal. This shows that RAS1 and RAS2 are functionally interchangeable for growth in rich medium. Purified adenylate cyclase can be stimulated by purified RAS protein in vitro. The purified RAS2 protein can be phosphorylated in vitro by mammalian A kinase and the phosphorylated RAS protein is ∼2-fold less active in stimulating adenylate cyclase in vitro than is dephosphorylated protein. In addition, both RAS1 and RAS2 proteins are phosphorylated in vivo.
The relation between policy and research planning.

The crucial role of total exposure assessment (TEA) in environmental epidemiology, risk assessment, risk management, and disease diagnosis and treatment has been appreciated only in recent years, and then by a relatively small number of policy makers and scientists. Thus TEA is a relatively new research field with a limited data base. As a result, research needs cover a broad range. However, setting research priorities with limited resources is a problem. Agencies usually develop criteria to set priorities. The criteria often have at least one element in common, namely, that the research be compatible with policy goals. However, policies are developed, at least in part, using research data, thus making policy and research planning an iterative process. TEA, by definition, is related to multi-media and multiple routes of exposure. Because of this, research planning can be hampered by differences in policies of programs dealing with different media and routes of exposure. Thus it is important to develop better ways to facilitate communication among policy makers, research planners, and researchers. This paper will argue that one such way is the proper use of the basic scientific tenet of hypothesis testing in planning, executing, and evaluating research. The paper will discuss thismore » tenet, and recommend that exposure researchers use it, not only to improve the quality of their individual research but also to provide a better mechanism for setting priorities for research projects.« less
Assay Methods in Cushing’s Syndrome

The successful and accurate laboratory evaluation of Cushing’s syndrome is heavily dependent upon the availability of assays which are specific and sufficiently sensitive to detect the analytes of interest not only under normal physiologic conditions but also especially in situations where these analytes are suppressed either due to natural causes (e.g. suppression of pituitary ACTH by a functional adrenal adenoma) or to pharmacologic testing (e.g. dexamethasone suppression). Immunoassays (radioimmunoassay [RIA], enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay [ELISA], immunoradiometric assay [IRMA] etc) have several advantages over other methods, including relatively low cost, speed, large capacity, and usual ability to measure substances directly (with the notable exception of urinary steroids), thus avoiding extraction methods and the possible need to correct for variable recoveries,. The quality or characteristics of the primary antisera and the purity and specific activity of the tracer or other detection method contribute significantly to the sensitivity and specificity of such assays. HPLC is well adapted for small analytes such as steroids and has the potential of detecting synthetic as well as endogenously produced steroids. The finding of unusually low cortisol levels in a situation where elevated levels would be expected suggests exposure to synthetic steroids. Sample extraction is mandatory for all samples, including serum, plasma, saliva and urine.
Clustering Analysis To Explore Cohorts In Comorbid Patients

Multimorbidities are associated with significant burden on the healthcare system and the lack of accurate and pertinent statistical exploratory techniques have often limited their analysis. Here we employ exploratory hierarchal agglomerative clustering (HAC) of multimorbidities in the inpatient population in the state of Ohio. The examination exposed the presence of ten discrete, clinically pertinent groups of multimorbidities within the Ohio inpatient population. This method offers an assessable empirical exploration of the multimorbidities present in a specific geographic populace.
Tumor-on-a-chip platform to investigate progression and drug sensitivity in cell lines and patient-derived organoids

Most cancer treatment strategies target cell proliferation, angiogenesis, migration, and intravasation of tumor cells in an attempt to limit tumor growth and metastasis. An in vitro platform to assess tumor progression and drug sensitivity could provide avenues to enhance our understanding of tumor metastasis as well as precision medicine. We present a microfluidic platform that mimics biological mass transport near the arterial end of a capillary in the tumor microenvironment. A central feature is a quiescent perfused 3D microvascular network created prior to loading tumor cells or patient-derived tumor organoids in an adjacent compartment. The physiological delivery of nutrients and/or drugs to the tumor then occurs through the vascular network. We demonstrate the culture, growth, and treatment of tumor cell lines and patient-derived breast cancer organoids. The platform provides the opportunity to simultaneously and dynamically observe hallmark features of tumor progression including cell proliferation, angiogenesis, cell migration, and tumor cell intravasation. Additionally, primary breast tumor organoids are viable in the device for several weeks and induce robust sprouting angiogenesis. Finally, we demonstrate the feasibility of our platform for drug discovery and personalized medicine by analyzing the response to chemo- and anti-angiogenic therapy. Precision medicine-based cancer treatments can only be realized if individual tumors can be rapidly assessed for therapeutic sensitivity in a clinically relevant timeframe (≲14 days). Our platform indicates that this goal can be achieved and provides compelling opportunities to advance precision medicine for cancer.
Quasi-steady combustion of normal-alkane droplets supported by Cool-Flame chemistry near diffusive extinction

Two steady-state chemical-kinetic approximations are introduced into the apparently most relevant five cool-flame steps of the latest San Diego mechanism for n-heptane, supplemented by a sixth step...
Pilot scale culture of the marine cyanobacterium Lyngbya majuscula for its pharmaceutically-useful natural metabolite curacin A

A Caribbean collection of Lyngbya majuscula which produces the promising antimitotic agent, curacin A, was recollected in 1993 from Curacao and adapted to laboratory culture. A variety of culture vessel configurations and conditions were examined for their effect on growth and production of curacin A. Using these partially optimized conditions, 29 strains of curacin A producing L. majuscula were evaluated for their production levels of curacin A employing an internal standard GC-MS analytical method. Five strains were more carefully characterized for their growth and curacin A production, and led to our selection of one reliable strain, ’19L‘, for further studies. Growth and curacin A production curves were established for this strain over a 30 day growth period. This directed a scale-up culture of 640 liters of L. majuscula strain 19L in four batches of 160 L each. All four batches grew well and produced significant quantities of curacin A. In tota1, 215.5 g wet weight of L. majuscula tissue were produced which gave an isolated yield of 132.5 mg of curacin A.
Towards the implementation of green stormwater infrastructure: perspectives from municipal managers in the Pacific Northwest

To mitigate the harmful effects of stormwater runoff, many cities in the United States are constructing green stormwater infrastructure (GSI), yet the varied perceptions of GSI by local municipal m...
An exploratory study into student leadership and True Colors personality with learning and training.

Abstract This is an exploratory study examining the relationship between students’ leadership profiles and personalities within their classroom performance. The participants of the study are senior level hospitality students in a human resource class. The measures are the Student Leadership Practices Inventory (SLPI) and True Colors Word Sort. Two types of data are used: 1) traditional testing results, via paper and pencil tests, and 2) performance assessments, grades on written assignments. MANOVA results suggest some significant relationships between student leadership and performance assessment. ANOVA results suggest student leadership had a significant impact on the final grade.
Frequency of Trying to Lose Weight and Its Association with Children’s Weight Perception and Dietary Intake (NHANES 2011–2012)

Weight loss practices and frequency among children and adolescents can impact overall diet quality. We used cross-sectional U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data (NHANES) 2011–2012 from 1303 children and adolescents (8–15 years) to examine associations between frequency of trying to lose weight (never vs. sometimes/a lot) and sociodemographic characteristics, self-perception of weight, and dietary intake. A greater frequency of trying to lose weight was reported by participants with overweight/obesity, those from households with lower annual income and those who perceived they were overweight or obese compared to their counterparts. A high proportion of participants with overweight and obesity considered themselves to be “about the right weight” (76.7 and 42.8%, respectively). Intake data based on one 24-h dietary recall were examined using multivariable regression models adjusted for child and parent/family characteristics. In adjusted analyses, energy and total fat intakes were lower among those trying to lose weight compared to those never trying to lose weight. Intakes of cholesterol, sodium, and refined grains were not different by frequency of trying to lose weight (all p = 0.059–0.074). Weight loss efforts may be related to better nutritional profiles for some children and adolescents.
Robust Model-Based Viscoelastic Characterization of QIBA Phantoms through Fractional Derivative Group Shear Wave Speeds

We present a technique for viscoelastic material characterization from group shear wave speeds measured at various fractional derivative orders. In this work, we fit experimental group shear wave speeds at a range of fractional derivative orders to a look up table of calculated speeds for a given excitation geometry and material model, resulting in estimated model parameters for the experimental acquisition. The technique is demonstrated in three viscoelastic phantoms similar to the Phase II Quantitative Imaging and Biomarkers Alliance phantoms. The results demonstrate the fractional derivative group shear wave speed method produces more repeatable parameter values than fitting phase velocity curves (determined with the peak of the 2DFT). Additionally, it is observed that the linear attenuation model is a more accurate two parameter model than the Voigt model for these phantoms. Additional simulations, results and discussion will be presented in the forthcoming full length paper.
A Bayesian learning model for design-phase service mashup popularity prediction

Abstract Using web services as building blocks to develop software applications, i.e., service mashups, not only reuses software development efforts to minimize development cost, but also leverages user groups and marketing efforts of those services to attract users and improve profits. This has significantly encouraged the development of a large number of service mashups in various domains. However, using existing services, even popular ones, does not guarantee the success of a mashup. In fact, a large portion of existing mashups fail to attract a good number of users, making the mashup development effort less effective. Design-phase popularity prediction can help avoid unpromising mashup developments by providing early-on insight into the potential popularity of a mashup. In this paper, we investigate the factors that can affect the popularity of a mashup through a comprehensive analysis on one of the largest mashup repository (i.e., ProgrammableWeb). We further propose a novel Bayesian approach that offers early-on insight to developers into the potential popularity of a mashup using design-phase features only. Besides identifying those relevant features, the Bayesian learning model can provide a confidence level for each prediction. This provides useful guidance to developers for successful mashup development. Experimental results demonstrate that the proposed approach achieves high prediction accuracy and outperforms competitive models.
Methods of Comparative Corporate Governance

Methodology has not received sufficient attention in the field of comparative law, and this shortcoming is perhaps even more significant in the specific field of comparative corporate governance, where the general comparative legal literature that does exist on the subject tends to be ignored. While there is assuredly no single, optimal comparative method, it remains critically important for scholars to evaluate whether the approach undertaken is fit for purpose – that is, whether the comparative method adopted is in fact capable of illuminating the subject of inquiry. This chapter highlights some significant methodological choices and challenges encountered in comparative corporate governance. Part II describes differing comparative postures that one might adopt, emphasizing similarity or difference, respectively – an important threshold consideration, in so far as one often finds what one sets out to find, without recognizing the degree to which such predispositions might cloud the analysis and preclude a fuller account. Part III examines how the law and economics movement, in particular, has affected comparative analysis of corporate governance, critiquing its (implicit) methodology and assessing its impacts. Part IV, then, discusses various choices in research design, emphasizing how the alternatives are impacted by the foregoing dynamics. Part V briefly concludes, calling for methodological self-awareness and candid acknowledgment of the limits of what various comparative approaches to corporate governance can deliver.
A RED HERRING: PATENT FORAMEN OVALE IN RECURRENT VASCULAR THROMBOEMBOLISMS

Patent foreman ovale (PFO) as a source of recurrent strokes is a diagnosis of exclusion. Prior to PFO closure, other diagnoses should be investigated. A 60 year male was transferred to our facility for PFO closure in the setting of recent DVT and recurrent multi-territorial cerebrovascular infarcts
Substorm onset and development: The crucial role of flow channels

Abstract In this paper, we described the basic features and observations bases of the scenario for the substorm expansion phase that we have developed from our research over the past ~10 years. Onset occurs along magnetic field lines of the inner proton plasma sheet, and is first seen in the aurora as beading along the onset aurora arc, which lies near the equatorward boundary of the auroral oval. Growth of these onset waves and large amplitude electric field oscillations indicates that an abrupt transition from a stable to unstable state leads to onset. The transition to instability occurs as a result of an intrusion of a low-entropy flow burst/channel (i.e., a plasma bubble) to the inner plasma sheet, and such flow bursts are marked in the auroral oval by the initiation of a poleward boundary intensification (PBI) that evolves into an auroral streamer. Plasma flows associated with these and other PBIs are generally associated with enhanced reconnection at the distant tail neutral line, the reconnection being triggered by an incoming flow channel from the polar cap. It is reasonable that the onset instability is triggered by the intruding reduced entropy plasma abruptly changing the entropy distribution in the inner plasma sheet, though the specific onset instability has not been identified. The onset instability is azimuthally aligned and expands azimuthally, these occurring because, as a bubble moves earthward, lower energy ions tending to follow the electric field drift towards the dawn side while higher energy ions magnetic drift towards the duskside. Thus entropy is not conserved along center of mass drift trajectories, and the bubble spreads in longitude and deepens. The transition to non-linearity of the growing onset waves leads to streamers. How this occurs is another major outstanding question, but the first streamers could initiate within the plasma sheet ~20 RE downtail, the region where reconnection has been inferred to occur soon after onset. It is likely that streamers and their associated reconnection initiate at the distant tail neutral line once the expansion phase auroral activity reaches the auroral poleward boundary. The substorm current wedge builds up from a sequence of longitudinally localized flow burst regions (wedgelets) that are associated with the expansion-phase streamers, dipolarize the local magnetic field, and give rise to traditional ground onset signatures on the ground, namely auroral zone H bays and mid-latitude positive H bays and Pi2 pulsations.
Integrating Advanced Modeling and Accelerated Testing for a Modernized Fuel Qualification Paradigm

With the increasing interest in sodium fast reactor technology, as seen by applications to the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission for the OKLO Aurora plant, fuel testing for the TerraPower Travelin...
Reclaiming the Living Room: The Play Value of Grotesque Toys

Throughout the mid-1980s and the 1990s, gross-out toys took toy shelves by storm. Children took delight in an array of repulsive toys, such as Creepy Crawlers, Dripping Slime Pits, and Nickelodeon’s Gak. These slimy, disgusting, and grotesque creations invited children to embrace what their parents and guardians found abject, with their ability to repulse others—specifically girls and adult women—presented as their major selling feature. In this chapter, I explore how advertisers in the 1980s and 1990s positioned gross-out toys’ play value (i.e., their repulsiveness to adults) as creating compensatory inversions of the adult-ordered world. By focusing on the toys’ transgression of middle-class norms, television advertisements positioned gross-out toys as a form of modern-day carnivalesque and a disruption of parental control. Advertisers promised that possessing and playing with gross-out toys would allow children to turn the tables on adults and reverse the course of their enclosure. Throughout the 1980s and 1990s, parental concerns surrounding children’s safety rose.
Research Article: How Well Do Universities Prepare New Environmental Managers?

While few programs have been created to satisfy the need for environmental managers, one promising development is that the environment has become a legitimate topic in graduate business programs. With the intent to provide information to schools of business as they integrate environmentally related subjects into their curricula, a questionnaire was sent to 1,200 active members of the National Registry of Environmental Professionals (NREP). A 20% return rate was obtained. Half of all respondents report that students are inadequately prepared; 85% said MBAs are inadequately prepared. Students get little practical experience, lack familiarity with business or management concepts, and are unfamiliar with principles of project management MBAs lack requisite scientific or technical background. Work experience is considered important and 90% of all respondents indicate an internship counts as work experience but only 50% say their organization provides internship opportunities.
The Role of House Flippers in a Boom and Bust Real Estate Market

Abstract The single-family house transactions data of the Chicago Metropolitan Statistical Area during the 1995–2010 period revealed that the peak flipper participation in the housing market occurred between 2004 and 2006 and they realized a higher return than long-term house holders, especially between 2000 and 2006 when the housing market boomed. However, flippers had higher risk than long-term holders. The estimation results of the multilevel mixed regression model showed that when more flippers entered the housing market, they created a positive upward movement in home price. The multivariate adaptive regression splines (MARS) model revealed a nonlinear relationship between housing prices and the fixed and variable effects of flipper participation in the housing market. Multiple knots indicated that flippers impacted the market differently as the frequency and magnitude of flipper participation in the housing market changed.
Medical Students’ Perceptions of Surgeons: Implications for Teaching and Recruitment

Objective The purpose of this study was to assess first-year medical students’ implicit perceptions of surgeons, focusing on the roles of gender and demeanor (communal = supportive, associated with women; agentic = assertive, associated with men). Design Survey study. Each survey had 1 of 8 possible scenarios; all began with a short description of a surgeon who was described as accomplished and well trained, then varied by surgeon gender (male/female), surgeon demeanor (agentic/communal), and type of surgery (breast cancer/lung cancer). Using a 0 to 5 scale, respondents rated their perception of the surgeon through 5 questions. These 5 items were averaged to create a composite perception score scaled from 0 to 5. Setting Surveys were administered at the University of California, San Francisco, and the University of California, Los Angeles. Participants We administered surveys to 333 first-year medical students who could read English and voluntarily agreed to participate. Results A total of 238 students responded (71.5%). They preferred the communal vs agentic surgeon (4.2 ± 0.7 vs 3.9 ± 0.7, p = 0.002) and male medical students perceived surgeons more favorably than female medical students did (4.2 ± 0.6 vs 4.0 ± 0.8, p = 0.036). The preference score did not differ according to surgeon gender (female 4.12 vs male 3.98, p = 0.087). There were no significant interactions between the factors of student gender, surgeon gender, or demeanor. Students who reported an interest in surgery as a career did not perceive surgeons more favorably than the students interested in other fields (4.3 ± 0.7 vs 4.0 ± 0.7 respectively, p = 0.066). Conclusions Based on our findings, surgeon educators would likely find success in teaching and recruiting medical students by employing a communal demeanor in their interactions with all students, regardless of the students’ gender or stated interest in surgery.
Iridium–bismuth carbonyl cluster complexes

Abstract The compound Ir 3 (CO) 9 (μ 3 -Bi), 1 loses CO when heated and condenses to form the hexairidium compoun Ir 6 (CO) 13 (μ 3 -Bi)(μ 4 -Bi), 2 . Compounds 1 and 2 react with PPh 3 to form the PPh 3 derivatives Ir 3 (CO) 9-n (PPh 3 ) n (μ 3 -Bi), 3 – 5 , n = 1-3 and Ir 6 (CO) 12 (PPh 3 )(μ 3 -Bi)(μ 4 -Bi), 6 , respectively. Compound 4 loses CO and converts to the o-metallated product Ir 3 (CO) 6 (PPh 3 )(μ-C 6 H 4 PPh 2 )(μ-H)(μ 3 -Bi), 7 . Compound 1 reacts with Ru3(CO)10(NCMe)2 to yield the bimetallic cluster complex Ir 3 Ru 4 (CO) 18 (μ 3 -Bi), 9 . The structures of all new products were established by single-crystal X-ray diffraction analyses. The hexairidium products 2 and 6 contain square pyramidal Ir5 clusters with a quadruply bridging bismuth ligand across the square base and a triply bridging bismuth ligand on one of the Ir 3 triangles. The sixth Ir grouping is a capping group on one of the remaining Ir 3 triangles. Compound 9 contains an octahedral Ir 3 Ru 3 cluster with a Ru(CO) 3 group capping an Ir3 triangle and a triply bridging bismuth ligand on one of the IrRu 2 triangles.