cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Immunohistochemical analysis of KBA.62 in 18 neurothekeomas: a potential marker for differentiating neurothekeoma, but a marker that may lead to confusion with melanocytic tumors.

Background Neurothekeoma represents a neoplasm of uncertain histogenesis that often occurs on the head and neck of younger individuals. Distinguishing neurothekeoma from other tumors, particularly malignancies such as melanoma, can be difficult given the variable presence of nuclear atypia, mitoses and extension into fat or skeletal muscle. KBA.62 represents an anti-melanoma monoclonal antibody that marks approximately 93% of melanomas. This study sought to evaluate KBA.62 expression in neurothekeomas, both as means of affirming the diagnosis and as a potential confounding factor in excluding a melanocytic process. Methods Eighteen neurothekeomas from 17 patients were analyzed by light microscopy and immunohistochemistry. Immunohistochemistry was performed with KBA.62, S100 and CD10 antibodies. The diagnosis of neurothekeoma was confirmed by at least two dermatopathologists. Results All cases showed similar light microscopic and immunohistochemical features. With the exception of two cases, cells expressed CD10 and exhibited morphologic features consistent with neurothekeoma. All 18 cases were S100 immunonegative. The epithelioid cells of all neurothekeomas were KBA.62 immunopositive, including both of two neurothekeomas occurring in the same patient. Conclusions In this study 100% of neurothekeomas tested were KBA.62 positive, admittedly to varying degrees, suggesting the utility of this reagent as being supportive of the diagnosis of neurothekeoma.
Survey of Applicant Experience and Cost in the Urology Match: Opportunities for Reform

Purpose: The urology match is highly competitive but there is a paucity of published data regarding the costs and barriers that applicants face. We gathered data on contributors to cost in the 2014 urology residency match.Materials and Methods: A survey was sent to all applicants offered an interview at each of 18 participating institutions. Information on demographics, interview related costs, access to financial aid, frequency of away rotations and second look invitations was collected.Results: A total of 173 respondents spent a median of $7,000 on the urology match. Applicants attended a mean of 14 interviews with an average per interview cost of $500. Overall 95% of respondents did at least 1 away rotation and 79% reported being asked to return for a second look interview at least once. Of the respondents 66% did not receive any financial aid for interviews and only 28% believed their financial aid departments provided adequate financial planning. Of those surveyed 20% indicated that their financial s...
Current processes of the U.S. Preventive Services Task Force: refining evidence-based recommendation development.

The U.S. Preventive Services Task Force (USPSTF) is an internationally recognized, independent panel of nonfederal experts in primary care, prevention, and research methods that makes evidence-based recommendations to guide the delivery of clinical preventive services. Convened and supported by the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the USPSTF is charged by the U.S. Congress to review the scientific evidence for clinical preventive services and to develop evidence-based recommendations for their delivery to the health care community. The disciplines of USPSTF members include family medicine, internal medicine, geriatrics, preventive medicine, pediatric and adolescent medicine, obstetrics and gynecology, nursing, psychology and behavioral medicine, public health, and health policy. Since its inception more than 20 years ago, the USPSTF
The effects of time on computer-mediated communication group meetings: an exploratory study using an evaluation task

Group discussion and decision-making under time constraints is part of many people's lives and much remains unknown about this behaviour. In our study on the effects of time limits placed on computer-mediated group meetings, subjects participated in time-deprived, time-optimal and time-abundant conditions, respectively. This study indicated that in groups with different time conditions overall results varied in their perceptions on several areas of the meeting processes and, we found that the relationships between time and groups' perceptions of meeting processes and outcomes were not linear.
The Epidemiology of Revision Total Knee Arthroplasty in the United States

Understanding the cause of failure and type of revision total knee arthroplasty (TKA) procedures performed in the United States is essential in guiding research, implant design, and clinical decision making in TKA. We assessed the causes of failure and specific types of revision TKA procedures performed in the United States using newly implemented ICD-9-CM diagnosis and procedure codes related to revision TKA data from the Nationwide Inpatient Sample (NIS) database. Clinical, demographic, and economic data were reviewed and analyzed from 60,355 revision TKA procedures performed in the United States between October 1, 2005 and December 31, 2006. The most common causes of revision TKA were infection (25.2%) and implant loosening (16.1%), and the most common type of revision TKA procedure reported was all component revision (35.2%). Revision TKA procedures were most commonly performed in large, urban, nonteaching hospitals in Medicare patients ages 65 to 74. The average length of hospital stay (LOS) for all revision TKA procedures was 5.1 days, and the average total charges were $49,360. However, average LOS, average charges, and procedure frequencies varied considerably by census region, hospital type, and procedure performed.
Adapting Choral Singing Experiences for Older Adults: The Implications of Sensory, Perceptual, and Cognitive Changes.

As people age, they naturally experience sensory, perceptual, and cognitive changes. Many of these changes necessitate adaptations in designing programs for older adults. Choral singing is an activity that has many potential benefits for older adults, yet the rehearsal environment, presentation style, and content of material presented may need to be modified in order for older adults to participate to their fullest. The purpose of this article is to discuss sensory, perceptual, and cognitive changes that may occur in old age and, based on the implications of these changes, provide recommendations on designing a choral singing experience for older adults. I offer suggestions for adapting choral singing experiences based on empirical evidence as well as my own experience leading a choir for mature singers with Parkinson’s disease. Adaptive strategies are given so those working with older adults might help mature singers more fully participate when engaging in choral singing.
Nonsense-mediated decay of glutathione peroxidase 1 mRNA in the cytoplasm depends on intron position.

mRNA for glutathione peroxidase 1 (GPx1) is subject to cytoplasmic nonsense-mediated decay (NMD) when the UGA selenocysteine (Sec) codon is recognized as nonsense. Here, we demonstrate by moving the sole intron of the GPx1 gene that either the Sec codon or a TAA codon in its place elicits NMD when located ≥59 bp but not ≤43 bp upstream of the intron. Therefore, the exon–exon junction of GPx1 mRNA positions the boundary between nonsense codons that do and do not elicit NMD, as has been shown for the 3′-most junctions of mRNAs subject to nucleus-associated NMD. We also demonstrate by using a regulatable promoter to drive GPx1 gene expression that cytoplasmic NMD is characteristic of steady-state mRNA, in contrast to nucleus-associated NMD. These findings clarify the mechanistic relationship between cytoplasmic and nucleus-associated NMD and offer the first demonstration that nuclear introns can influence cytoplasmic NMD. Finally, by analyzing hybrid GPx1 genes, we disprove the idea that the cellular site of NMD is determined by the efficiency of translation initiation.
SPI: an instrumentation development environment for parallel/distributed systems

This paper presents an overview of the Scalable Parallel Instrumentation (SPI) tool being developed at Honeywell. SPI provides a complete development and execution environment for developing real-time instrumentation functions for heterogeneous parallel/distributed systems. This includes: C-extensions and development tools for the event-action programming model, run-time support for transparent event-action execution on a heterogeneous distributed platform, and a library of primitives (actions) ranging from real-lime data collection, analysis to graphic display. Concurrent instrumentation functions can be flexibly parallelized/distributed over the heterogeneous platform to selectively analyze and display desired activity at the hardware, OS, IPC, and application levels. SPI is currently operational on a heterogeneous platform of SUN workstations and Intel Paragon. >
MDCT angiography after open thoracic aortic surgery: pearls and pitfalls.

OBJECTIVE. The purpose of this article is to review open thoracic aortic surgical techniques and to describe the range of postoperative findings on CT angiography (CTA).CONCLUSION. An understanding of surgical thoracic aortic procedures will allow appropriate differentiation of normal from abnormal CTA findings on postoperative imaging.
Is It Me or Is It Mine? Body-self Integration as a Function of Self-esteem, Body-esteem, and Mortality Salience

This research was designed to explore the extent to which the physical body is integrated into individuals' conceptualizations of self. We hypothesized that body-self integration would vary as a function of level of general self-esteem, specific self-evaluations for the body, and also mortality salience due to existential implications of the physical body's certainty of eventual death. In a neutral condition (no mortality reminder), individuals with high self-esteem were found to hold conceptualizations of the self that include the body to the extent that they had high body self-esteem, whereas individuals low in self-esteem did not exhibit these self-serving body-self representations. In addition, mortality salience led to a distancing of the self from the body, but only for people lacking the protection provided by high general or body-specific self-esteem. Our discussion focused on individual difference in low and high self-esteem and implications of bodily threats to conceptualizations for self.
Creating porcine biomedical models through recombineering.

Recent advances in genomics provide genetic information from humans and other mammals (mouse, rat, dog and primates) traditionally used as models as well as new candidates (pigs and cattle). In addition, linked enabling technologies, such as transgenesis and animal cloning, provide innovative ways to design and perform experiments to dissect complex biological systems. Exploitation of genomic information overcomes the traditional need to choose naturally occurring models. Thus, investigators can utilize emerging genomic knowledge and tools to create relevant animal models. This approach is referred to as reverse genetics. In contrast to ‘forward genetics’, in which gene(s) responsible for a particular phenotype are identified by positional cloning (phenotype to genotype), the ‘reverse genetics’ approach determines the function of a gene and predicts the phenotype of a cell, tissue, or organism (genotype to phenotype). The convergence of classical and reverse genetics, along with genomics, provides a working definition of a ‘genetic model’ organism (3). The recent construction of phenotypic maps defining quantitative trait loci (QTL) in various domesticated species provides insights into how allelic variations contribute to phenotypic diversity. Targeted chromosomal regions are characterized by the construction of bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) contigs to isolate and characterize genes contributing towards phenotypic variation. Recombineering provides a powerful methodology to harvest genetic information responsible for phenotype. Linking recombineering with gene-targeted homologous recombination, coupled with nuclear transfer (NT) technology can provide ‘clones’ of genetically modified animals.
Physical Therapy Treatment Choices for Musculoskeletal Impairments

Background and Purpose. The primary goal of this investigation was to describe outpatient physical therapy treatments provided to patients with lumbar, cervical, or knee impairments. Subjects. Patients in this analysis received outpatient physical therapy for a primary orthopedic complaint during July 1993 through June 1994 from one of 68 practices participating in the Focus on Therapeutic Outcomes database. Data were available on 2,598 completed physical therapy episodes of care provided by 141 therapists. Methods. At each patient's discharge, the primary physical therapist gave information on the treatments provided to each patient during the initial, middle, and final thirds of the episode of therapy as well as information on primary source of reimbursement. Patients provided information on the date of onset of their symptoms or surgery. Results. These outpatient physical therapy episodes of care were characterized by a diverse array of modalities, exercises, and manual therapy treatments. Treatment choices varied by type of impairment and across thirds of the episode. Fee-for-service versus managed care payment arrangements were associated with increased use of devices, therapeutic massage, strengthening, and endurance exercises. Conclusion and Discussion. The study's findings revealed that although physical agents were frequently used in physical therapy episodes of care, they were applied along with exercise and manual therapy interventions. Future research should relate specific treatments to variation in patient outcomes following physical therapy.
Full- and minimal-scan reconstruction algorithms for fan-beam diffraction tomography.

Diffraction tomography (DT) is a tomographic inversion technique that reconstructs the spatially variant refractive-index distribution of a scattering object. In fan-beam DT, the interrogating radiation is not a plane wave but rather a cylindrical wave front emanating from a line source located a finite distance from the scattering object. We reveal and examine the redundant information that is inherent in the fan-beam DT data function. Such redundant information can be exploited to reduce the reconstructed image variance or, alternatively, to reduce the angular scanning requirements of the fan-beam DT experiment. We develop novel filtered backpropagation and estimate–combination reconstruction algorithms for full-scan and minimal-scan fan-beam DT. The full-scan algorithms utilize measurements taken over the angular range 0 ≤ ϕ ≤ 2π, whereas the minimal-scan reconstruction algorithms utilize only measurements taken over the angular range 0 ≤ ϕ ≤ ϕmin, where π ≤ ϕmin ≤ 3π/2 is a specified function that describes the fan-beam geometry. We demonstrate that the full- and minimal-scan fan-beam algorithms are mathematically equivalent. An implementation of the algorithms and numerical results obtained with noiseless and noisy simulated data are presented.
Live and let die: a new suicide gene therapy moves to the clinic.

The concept of suicide gene therapy dates from the beginning of the field of gene therapy and was one of the first clinical applications. Initially described as an anticancer therapy, it quickly found a specific application in the practice of hematopoietic stem cell transplantation. A recent publication by Di Stasi et al. presents the first clinical data on a relatively new suicide gene system that targets caspase 9–mediated apoptosis in an inducible fashion.1 Specifically, five children undergoing haplo-identical stem cell transplantation for leukemia received donor T lymphocytes that had been genetically engineered with the inducible caspase 9 (iCasp9) gene. Four of the five patients developed graft-vs.-host disease (GVHD) caused by the donor lymphocytes that was quickly reversed by induction of the iCasp9 suicide gene. These results further validate the findings of others that suicide gene therapy for the control of GVHD is a valuable clinical procedure and, in the broader context, may have implications for a variety of other gene therapy applications in which a suicide safety switch may be useful.
Circadian distribution of bile acid in the enterohepatic circulatory system in hamsters.

The distribution of bile acid in the enterohepatic circulatory system at different times of the day was determined in 48 hamsters exposed to a rigid light schedule (6 AM to 6 PM ) and fed, ad libitum, for 4 weeks. In each portion of the enterohepatic circulatory system, the relative amount of bile acid was determined 24 hours after an intraperitoneal administration of [3H]taurocholic acid by comparing the radioactivity recovered from that portion with the total radioactivity remaining in the entire system. A circadian fluctuation of the relative bile acid content (percent of total) was observed in serum, liver, gallbladder, and intestinal contents. The patterns of such rhythmic change varied in various segments of the intestinal tract but correlated well with the time sequence of the movement of bowel content. Rhythms in the serum and liver were intimately related to the intestinal absorption of bile acid. Due to its small capacity, the gallbladder played only a minor role in the regulation of such a rhythm.
Cladosporium trichoides Cerebral Phaeohyphomycosis in a Liver Transplant Recipient: Report of a Case

Cerebral phaeohyphomycosis (also referred to as cerebral chromomycosis), one of the diseases caused by the dematiaceous (black) fungi, is most commonly caused by Cladosporium trichoides (referred to by some as Xylohypha bantiana ) and is a rare disease, with 31 culture-proven cases reported to date. Although most cases have occurred in immunocompetent hosts, recent experimental evidence suggests that host immunosuppression may predispose patients to the disease. The authors report a case of fatal cerebral phaeohyphomycosis in a liver transplant patient, the first to occur in a transplant patient of any type, to the best of the authors' knowledge. This case provides support for the hypothesis that immunosuppressed patients may be at increased risk for development of this disease.
Stainless Steel Welds in Containers of Nuclear Waste

The as-welded microstructure of 308 stainless steel is usually a mixture of austenite and ferrite phases. The morphology of the duplex structure is a function of the composition of the weld. The resistance to sensitization is proportional to the amount and distribution of austenite-ferrite boundary area and the probability of precipitation of embrittling phases such as σ and α′ is proportional to the volume fraction of ferrite phase. Consequently, the properties of 308 stainless steel welds are strong functions of their microstructures. These, in turn, are primarily determined by the composition of the weld. Accordingly, to maximize the properties of welds of canisters of nuclear waste may require a restriction of the compositional limits of 308 stainless steel in order to preclude the formation of microstructures that are particularly susceptible to sensitization and/or mechanical embrittlement.
Pore Potential and Durability of Limestone at the Sphinx

In mercury porosimetry of limestone two hystereses are generated. A PV-diagram for initial intrusion and extrusion reveals one hysteresis as entrapment of mercury in large cavities that are connected to the exterior through narrow channels. The other hysteresis is a loop (HL) enclosed between the extrusion and reintrusion curves which indicate narrow channels. An HL is unique to a stone. The thermodynamic work (W) calculated as ΣPΔV, is W1, WE, WRE, WHY, and WT for the initial intrusion, extrusion, reintrusion, the hysteresis loop, and the entrapment, respectively. The pore-potential (U) defined as (1) $$U = {W_I} - {W_E} = {W_T} + {W_{HY}}$$ regulates the volume and rate of movement of water through the pores which in turn determines the stone’s durability. Microporous stones are highly susceptible to weathering and have a large value for WHY. WHY in association with the WT can be related to the durability factor (DF) as (2) $$DF = \frac{{{W_T}}}{{{W_T} + {W_{HY}}}}$$ The DF values, thus obtained, accurately reflect the observed condition of the strata of the Sphinx.
Energy Ships and Plug-In Hybrid Electric Vehicles: Are They the Key for a Rapid Transition to an Emission-Free Economy?

In this paper a novel method is presented to store energy in order to overcome the intermittent power supply problems caused by the use of conventional wind turbines. This novel method is based on the recognition that the winds over the oceans can be harnessed by means of sailing ships equipped with hydrokinetic turbines whose electric output can be used to charge electric batteries or to convert the seawater into hydrogen. It is shown that small off-grid communities can be supplied with stable year-round power by means of a small fleet of remotely controlled ships which operate in high-wind ocean areas. A prelimina1y cost analysis indicates that this energy ship concept is economically competitive with land-based wind-hydrogen systems. Also, it is shown that the Hawaiian Islands can be provided with stable year-round power by the use of large-scale energy ships operating in high-wind areas to produce hydrogen and by the use of energy ships operating in Hawaiian waters to charge the batteries of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles.Copyright © 2015 by ASME
Are Animal Models in Pulmonary Hypertension Relevant to the Clinical Disease

In this issue of the Journal, Aguero et al. [(1)][1] demonstrate that the intratracheal delivery of sarcoplasmic reticulum Ca2+-ATPase 2a (SERCA2a), which attenuates vascular remodeling by altering calcium hemostasis within vascular cells, improved pulmonary hemodynamics and right ventricular
Discrimination,diagnosis and maintenance for blast furnace hearth in service state

As the physical properties and configuration of the hearth-wall lining are different from original design,some conventional erosion management methods for blast furnace in service will lose their effectiveness,even more cause the hearth-wall penetration-cross accident.From the view of heat transfer,the penetration-cross is the extreme state after the thermal balance system is broken in the hearth-wall.On the basis of heat transfer theory and the investigation results of the used hearth-wall structure,a discrimination and diagnosis method has been put forward for the error damage state of hearth-wall in service from the view of multiple thermal resistance.By this,the hearth-wall state can be judged accurately,which can provide the decision basis for future management measures and lay the foundations for the safe use and extending the campaign of blast furnace.
Large-Scale Fiber Tracking Through Sparsely Sampled Image Sequences of Composite Materials

Fast and accurate characterization of fiber micro-structures plays a central role for material scientists to analyze physical properties of continuous fiber reinforced composite materials. In materials science, this is usually achieved by continuously cross-sectioning a 3D material sample for a sequence of 2D microscopic images, followed by a fiber detection/tracking algorithm through the obtained image sequence. To speed up this process and be able to handle larger size material samples, this paper proposes sparse sampling with larger inter-slice distance in cross sectioning and develops a new algorithm that can robustly track large-scale fibers from such a sparsely sampled image sequence. In particular, the problem is formulated as multi-target tracking, and the Kalman filters are applied to track each fiber along the image sequence. One main challenge in this tracking process is to correctly associate each fiber to its observation given that: 1) fiber observations are of large scale, crowded, and show very similar appearances in a 2D slice and 2) there may be a large gap between the predicted location of a fiber and its observation in the sparse sampling. To address this challenge, a novel group-wise association algorithm is developed by leveraging the fact that fibers are implanted in bundles and the fibers in the same bundle are highly correlated through the image sequence. In experiments, the proposed algorithm is tested on three tiles of 100-slice S200 material samples and the tracking performance is evaluated using 1136 human annotated ground-truth fiber tracks. Both quantitative and qualitative results show that the proposed algorithm clearly outperforms the state-of-the-art multiple-target tracking algorithms on sparsely sampled image sequences.
Justice: An Epistolary Essay

This exchange of letters considers the relationship between geography and different formulations of justice. On one hand, social movements have made visible the particular geographies of racialized, gendered, and class-based injustice. For this reason, the discipline of geography can be useful for social justice activists making justice claims. On the other hand, the public and private institutions to which justice claims are addressed often treat justice as a stable “thing” that can be achieved through protocols and procedures. Moreover, these institutionalized approaches to justice often limit justice claims, at times even enabling the unjust actions that initiated struggles for justice in the first place. Inasmuch as geographic knowledge is incorporated into this disciplining of justice, it, too, potentially limits social struggles. By considering this tension, we highlight the tremendous need for justice and the poverty of our institutionalized responses to that need.
Modelling of an intention based upper-limb exo-skeleton

Exoskeletons are a special type of collaborative robot that can be thought of as a humanoid robot clung to a human body (or a pilot). The proposed powered exoskeleton/robot is a 3 Degree of Freedom (DoF) robot and it relies on DC motors to apply the necessary joint torques which in turn require an input to drive these motors. Using Euler-Lagrange dynamics, dynamic model of this robot is developed that provides a mathematical relations among joint torques, joint angles and torque at the end effector. Force sensors at the wrist compute the desired input torque at the end effector; this dynamic model then maps the input torque to the respective joint torques that can produce the desired input torque at the end effector.
Clinical Relevance of Circulating Poly-Ubiquitin as a Prognostic Indicator in Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia.

Abstract 1240 Poster Board I-262 The ubiquitin-proteasome pathway is implicated in the pathogenesis of many hematological malignancies. We have reported that proteasome activities in plasma samples can be detected in patients with chronic lymphocytic leukaemia (CLL). Here we examined the correlation of plasma ubiquitin protein levels with clinical behavior in CLL patients. Using the Meso Scale Discovery (MSD) platform, we quantified poly-ubiquitin levels in plasma samples from 138 patients with CLL and 101 healthy control subjects, and examined the associations of ubiquitin levels with various clinical and laboratory variables and overall survival. Patients with CLL had significantly higher levels of poly-ubiquitin proteins (median=158.2; range=35.0-281.2) than did normal control subjects (median=57.3; range=22.0-160.2) (P IgVH . However, when considered as a continuous variable, poly-ubiquitin levels correlated negatively with survival. Higher levels of poly-ubiquitin were associated with longer survival (P=0.04). In a multivariate model incorporating poly-ubiquitin, B2M, and IgVH mutation status only B2M (P=0.00004) and poly-ubiquitin P=0.04) levels, but not IgVH mutation status (P=0.12), were independent predictors of survival. When a cut- point corresponding to the upper quartile was used, patients with poly-ubiquitin levels >193 ng/mL had significantly better survival than did those with lower levels. Using B2M and poly-ubiquitin in combination allowed us to stratify patients into 3 different groups : survival was greatest in patients with high poly-ubiquitin and low B2M levels, lowest in those with low poly-ubiquitin and high B2M levels, and intermediate in those with high levels of B2M and ubiquitin or low levels of both (P Disclosures No relevant conflicts of interest to declare.
Nurses of Integrity.

Being a person of integrity is an essential element of nursing. Nurses hold fast to licensure standards, practice guidelines, accreditation standards, and to ethical codes. Nurses are also required to advocate for patients, respect confidentiality, be cost-effective, and have an intrinsic sense of r
Visual outcomes after anterior vitrectomy: comparison of ECCE and phacoemulsification.

Abstract PURPOSE: To determine whether vitrectomy instrumentation improved outcomes when vitreous loss occurred during either extracapsular cataract extraction (ECCE) or phacoemulsification (PE) with posterior chamber lens implantation (PCIOL). METHODS: A consecutive series of ECCE + PCIOL (group 1: 1985-1989) and PE + PCIOL (group 2: 1993-1997) surgeries by a single surgeon was reviewed retrospectively. RESULTS: In group 1, 14 of 647 patients (2.2%) and in group 2, 9 of 665 patients (1.4%) experienced vitreous loss. In group 1, final visual acuity averaged 20/83; in group 2, 20/25 (P = .005). Average follow-up was 5.7 years (group 1) and 3.2 years (group 2). Uveitis, glaucoma, corneal problems, and retinal problems were assessed. CONCLUSIONS: Anterior vitrectomy reduced complications from vitreous loss. Fewer vitreous losses occurred with PE than ECCE. Patients with vitreous loss after PE attained better vision.
Intelligent GPS trace management for human mobility pattern detection

Large volumes of volunteered GPS traces in the last decade have provided location-based services with an opportunity to become more intelligent and personalized. Individual and group mobility patte...
Firm-level trust in emerging markets: the moderating effect on the institutional strength- corruption relationship in Mexico and Peru

espanolLas empresas en mercados emergentes se enfrentan frecuentemente a la corrupcion y debilidad institucional en su entorno. La confianza empresarial puede ayudar con estos desafios. En mercados emergentes, la confianza empresarial puede involucrar a los empleados y reducir la presion sobre las empresas, causada por debilidades institucionales. El presente es un estudio con empleados de Mexico y Peru que mide sus percepciones de corrupcion, confianza y fortaleza institucional. Por medio de analisis factorial confirmatorio y regresion lineal, se investiga como la confianza modera la relacion entre la debilidad institucional y la corrupcion percibidas. Los resultados sugieren que la confianza empresarial motiva a los empleados a ser productivos, y que las empresas que generan confianza pueden enfrentar mejor los desafios de entornos institucionales corruptos. EnglishEmerging market firms often face corruption and institutional weakness in their environments. Firm-level trust may help with these challenges. In these countries, firm-level trust may engage employees and reduce pressure on firms from weak institutions and corruption. This is a study of employees of firms in Mexico and Peru, and it measures perceptions of corruption, trust, and institutional strength. Using confirmatory factor analysis and linear regression, the study tests hypotheses that trust moderates the weak institution - perceived corruption relationship. Findings suggest that trust may help employees be productive despite these challenges. Firms that build trust among employees may be better able to confront the challenges of corrupt and uncertain institutional environments. portuguesAs empresas nos mercados emergentes enfrentam frequentemente a corrupcao e fraqueza institucional em seu ambiente. A confianca empresarial pode contribuir com esses desafios. Nos mercados emergentes, a confianca empresarial pode envolver aos funcionarios e reduzir a pressao sobre as empresas, pelas debilidades institucionais. Este artigo apresenta um estudo com funcionarios do Mexico e do Peru que mensura suas percepcoes de corrupcao, confianca, e forca institucional. Por meio de analise fatorial confirmatoria e regressao linear, investiga-se como a confianca modera a relacao entre a fraqueza institucional e a corrupcao percebidas. Os resultados sugerem que a confianca empresarial motiva aos funcionarios a ser produtivos e que as empresas que geram confianca podem lidar melhor com os desafios dos ambientes institucionais corruptos.
Polymer Friction under Conditions of Deformation Processing

The sliding friction behavior of low density and high density polyethylenes with normal pressure and velocity is investigated for unlubrtcated conditions using the conventional friction measuring arrangement. Apart from its dependence on velocity, the coefficient of friction is found to vary significantly with normal pressure. The investigation of friction at very high contact pressures, as encountered in deformation processing, has been carried out for the case of direct extrusion using an instrumented extrusion die with movable head. The variation of extrusion and die-head force with ram travel is recorded for particular ram speeds. The extrusion data has been analyzed assuming von Mises1 yield criterion and spherical velocity fields and using the adhesion and constant shear theories of friction. The frictional shear stress and coefficient of friction are calculated for the state of stress involved in the extrusion process. The frictional shear stress of low density polyethylene is found to be of the order of its bulk shear strength which is in agreement with the adhesion theory of friction.
Vibrant Centers as Locations for High-Growth Firms: An Analysis of Thirty U.S. Metropolitan Areas

What kinds of places have high entrepreneurial activities? There has been an emerging body of studies about so-called entrepreneurship ecosystems, but virtually all of the past studies have examine...
The Interval Domain

In this chapter, we will introduce the interval domain \(\mathbb {I\hspace {1.1pt} R}\), which is a topological space that represents the line of time in our work to come. The points of this space can be thought of as compact intervals [a, b] in \(\mathbb {R}\). The specialization order on points gives \(\mathbb {R}\) a non-trivial poset structure—in fact it is a domain—and as such it is far from Hausdorff.
Host Plant Effects on Immune Response Across Development of a Specialist Caterpillar

Some herbivorous insects sequester chemicals from their host plants, which can serve as a defense against predators. However, sequestration can also be costly, impacting immunological responses important for other types of natural enemies, such as parasites and pathogens. These costs could also vary across herbivorous insect development, as both immune function and sequestration abilities change, although few studies have assessed variation in the cost of sequestration across life stages. The buckeye, Junonia coenia (Nymphalidae), is a specialist butterfly that sequesters iridoid glycosides from its host plants, including the introduced weed, Plantago lanceolata (Plantaginaceae). To determine the immunological costs of sequestration and how the immune response varies with host plant and across development, we reared caterpillars on a native host plant, Mimulus guttatus (Phrymaceae), which does not contain iridoid glycosides, and on P. lanceolata, which does. We assayed immune function across 3rd, 4th, and 5th instar caterpillars, estimating both hemocyte density and the ability of hemocytes to encapsulate foreign bodies by challenging the immune system with nylon filaments. For caterpillars reared on P. lanceolata, we then explored the relationships between iridoid glycoside sequestration and immune function across instars. We found that while hemocyte density tended to increase with instar regardless of host plant, caterpillars reared on P. lanceolata had lower encapsulation ability, and encapsulation decreased with increasing sequestration of iridoid glycosides, though patterns varied between instars and experimental periods. Interestingly, immune challenged caterpillars sequestered more iridoid glycosides than unchallenged caterpillars, suggesting that caterpillars responded to immune challenge by sequestering or retaining more iridoids, even though that may decrease their ability to encapsulate. These results suggest that sequestration can have important consequences for immune function across caterpillar development, and that the incorporation of novel hosts may affect defense against natural enemies.
The Extra-Institutional Logics of an Emerging Market Field: Values and Practice in the Bitcoin Experience:

Mature fields of market activity are characterized by clear norms, entrenched meanings, and rigid power hierarchies that stabilize logics of action. However, how do logics of action emerge in a nas...
More Evidence of Psychological Reactance to Consensus Messaging: A Response to van der Linden, Maibach, and Leiserowitz (2019)

In a recent article, van der Linden, Maibach, and Leiserowitz ([2019]. Exposure to Scientific Consensus Does Not Cause Psychological Reactance. Environmental Communication, 1–8) claim that exposure...
Role of Redox-Inactive Transition-Metals in the Behavior of Cation-Disordered Rocksalt Cathodes.

Author(s): Chen, Dongchang; Wu, Jinpeng; Papp, Joseph K; McCloskey, Bryan D; Yang, Wanli; Chen, Guoying | Abstract: Owing to the capacity boost from oxygen redox activities, Li-rich cation-disordered rocksalts (LRCDRS) represent a new class of promising high-energy Li-ion battery cathode materials. Redox-inactive transition-metal (TM) cations, typically d0 TM, are essential in the formation of rocksalt phases, however, their role in electrochemical performance and cathode stability is largely unknown. In the present study, the effect of two d0 TM (Nb5+ and Ti4+ ) is systematically compared on the redox chemistry of Mn-based model LRCDRS cathodes, namely Li1.3 Nb0.3 Mn0.4 O2 (LNMO), Li1.25 Nb0.15 Ti0.2 Mn0.4 O2 (LNTMO), and Li1.2 Ti0.4 Mn0.4 O2 (LTMO). Although electrochemically inactive, d0 TM serves as a modulator for oxygen redox, with Nb5+ significantly enhancing initial charge storage contribution from oxygen redox. Further studies using differential electrochemical mass spectroscopy and resonant inelastic X-ray scattering reveal that Ti4+ is better in stabilizing the oxidized oxygen anions (On - , 0 l n l 2), leading to a more reversible O redox process with less oxygen gas release. As a result, much improved chemical, structural and cycling stabilities are achieved on LTMO. Detailed evaluation on the effect of d0 TM on degradation mechanism further suggests that proper design of redox-inactive TM cations provides an important avenue to balanced capacity and stability in this newer class of cathode materials.
On Complement, Memory, and Microglia

A Memorable Article A study of memory and forgetting in the mouse suggests that microglia and complement proteins compromise the neuronal synapses that store memory. The act of forgetting may be an...
Putting a New Spin on the Flight of Jabillo Seeds

Our article describes the explosive seed dispersal of the Hura crepitans fruit. Through high-speed video analysis of an exploding fruit, we observe that the seeds fly with backspin as opposed to topspin, which was previously assumed. Backspin orients seeds to minimize drag during flight and consequently increases dispersal distance. The seeds' dispersal distance is estimated by using results from the seeds of Ruellia ciliatiflora, which are similarly shaped but ∼10 times smaller than those of H. crepitans. We note that the effects of lowering drag on the dispersal distance are more pronounced at higher speeds. We also see that the effect of launch height on the dispersal distance of the seeds becomes less consequential at higher launch speeds. We conclude that the increased dispersal distance due to flying with backspin should improve fitness in colonizing new habitats or escaping disease or predation and that comparisons of the seed dispersal mechanisms across species within the Euphorbiaceae and Acanthaceae might help reveal the adaptive significance of this behavior.
Finite-temperature properties of rare-earth iron garnets in a magnetic field

An ab initio scheme is developed and used to investigate finite-temperature properties of a prototype of the complex rare-earth iron garnets, namely, $\mathrm{G}{\mathrm{d}}_{3}\mathrm{F}{\mathrm{e}}_{5}{\mathrm{O}}_{12}$ (that is, possessing gadolinium as its rare-earth ion), under applied magnetic fields. It is found that such a system undergoes a field-induced transition at a critical temperature, ${T}_{\mathrm{rev}}$, at which all magnetic ions reverse the direction of their spins. This ${T}_{\mathrm{rev}}$ critical temperature is well seen via a peak in the specific heat versus temperature curve under field and depends on different magnetic fields' magnitude regimes: (1) for fields up to about 20 T, it is field independent, rather sudden, and coincides with the so-called compensation temperature, ${T}_{M}\ensuremath{\sim}286$ K, at which the sum of all local magnetic moments is annihilated; (2) for fields larger than 70 T, there is no more full cancellation of these local magnetic moments for any temperature and ${T}_{\mathrm{rev}}$ is also field independent but now occurs via rotation of the local magnetic moments and at a temperature smaller than the zero-field ${T}_{M}$ by about 100 K; and (3) for intermediate fields ranging between 20 and 70 T, ${T}_{\mathrm{rev}}$ is now field dependent and decreases with the field's magnitude while also being associated with a rotation of these local magnetic moments. Our calculations also highlight the predominant role of the spins of the Gd ions in all these effects.
Bowl piston geometry as an alternative to enlarged crevice pistons for rapid compression machines

Abstract Thermal inhomogeneity and physical processes like fluid dynamics reduce the utility of rapid compression machine (RCM) facilities to accurately study fuel combustion phenomenon relevant to internal combustion engines. Most current RCMs incorporate a large crevice volume in the piston to capture roll-up vortices that encroach into the combustion zone during compression. In this work, a bowl piston design similar to those used in diesel engines is proposed as an alternative to enlarged creviced pistons for creating a sufficiently thermally homogenous gas mixture prior to ignition without undesirable fluid motion found in flat piston configurations. The bowl piston also eliminates the possibility of cold unreacted gases entering the combustion chamber when the piston is retracted in rapid compression and expansion machines (RCEMs) like in creviced piston designs. In the work, a bowl piston was compared to creviced piston and flat piston configurations numerically and experimentally. Through non-reacting computational fluid dynamics simulations, the bowl piston reduced the roll-up vortex found for the flat piston and led to a higher temperature and more thermally uniform core of gas at peak compression compared to the enlarged crevice piston. Experimentally, three pistons were studied in a RCM facility with ethanol and n-butane as fuels. Results showed that the bowl piston yielded benefits over conventional piston geometries including: reduced heat loss due to lower surface area, higher turbulent Reynolds Number, stronger ignition, and higher heat release rate and combustion efficiency as estimated using heat release analysis. Based on the findings presented here, we conclude that bowl piston geometries are a promising alternative to creviced pistons for conducting fuel ignition studies in RCM and RCEM facilities.
Properties of inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase.

We recently described inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase, an enzyme which cleaves the 1-phosphate from inositol 1,4-bisphosphate (Ins(1,4)P2) and inositol 1,3,4-trisphosphate (Ins(1,3,4)P3) (Inhorn, R. C., and Majerus, P. W. (1987) J. Biol. Chem. 262, 15946-15952). We have now purified the enzyme to homogeneity from calf brain. The enzyme hydrolyzes 50.3 mumol of Ins(1,4)P2/min/mg protein. The enzyme has an apparent mass of 44,000 daltons as determined both by gel filtration chromatography and by sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis, suggesting that it is monomeric. Lithium ions inhibit Ins(1,3,4)P3 hydrolysis uncompetitively with an apparent Ki of approximately 0.3 mM LiCl. Calcium inhibits hydrolysis of Ins(1,4)P2 and Ins(1,3,4)P3 equally, with approximately 40% inhibition occurring at 1 microM free Ca2+. Rabbit polyclonal antiserum against purified inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase was prepared which immunoprecipitates approximately 0.3 milliunits of activity/microliter serum (1 unit = 1 mumol of Ins(1,4)P2 hydrolyzed per min). This antiserum was used to determine the enzyme content in several bovine tissues, all of which had a similar intrinsic specific activity (i.e. approximately 0.3 milliunits/microliter antiserum). Tissues studied included brain, heart, kidney, liver, lung, parotid, spleen, testis, and thymus. Approximately 10-15% of the total inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase activity in calf brain homogenates remains in a particulate fraction; antiserum also binds 0.3 milliunits of membrane-associated activity/microliter antiserum. Thus, a single enzyme can account for Ins(1,4)P2 hydrolytic activity in the bovine tissues. Ins(1,3,4)P3 metabolism was also investigated in bovine tissue homogenates. Inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase accounts for greater than 80% of the hydrolytic activity in all tissues studied except brain, where inositol polyphosphate 4-phosphatase is the major enzyme that hydrolyzes Ins(1,3,4)P3. The apparent Km of inositol polyphosphate 1-phosphatase for Ins(1,3,4)P3 varies approximately 3-4-fold among the bovine tissues.
Modulation of mRNA Expression of a Novel Human Myeloid-Selective CCAAT/Enhancer Binding Protein Gene (C/EBPε)

Human C/EBPe is a newly cloned gene coding for a CCAAT/enhancer binding protein that may be involved in the regulation of myeloid differentiation. Our studies showed that levels of C/EBPe mRNA were markedly increased in NB4 cells (promyelocytic leukemia line), because they were induced by 9-cis retinoic acid (9-cis RA) to differentiate towards granulocytes. Accumulation of C/EBPe mRNA occurred as early as 1 hour after exposure of NB4 cells to 9-cis RA (5 × 10−7 mol/L); and at 48 hours, levels were increased by 5.1-fold. Dose-response studies showed that 10−7 to 10−6 mol/L 9-cis RA (12 hours) resulted in peak levels of C/EBPe mRNA; but even 10−10 mol/L 9-cis RA increased levels of these transcripts. NB4 cells pulse-exposed (30 minutes) to all-trans retinoic acid (ATRA), washed, and cultured (3 days) with either dimethylsulfoxide (DMSO) or hexamethylene bisacetamide (HMBA) had a prominent increase in levels of C/EBPe mRNA and an increase in granulocytic differentiation, but exposure to either DMSO or HMBA alone had no effect on base levels of C/EBPe and did not induce differentiation. Macrophage-differentiation of NB4 reduced levels of C/EBPe mRNA. Nuclear run-off assays and half-life studies showed that accumulation of C/EBPe mRNA by 9-cis RA was due to enhanced transcription. Furthermore, this C/EBPe mRNA accumulation did not require synthesis of new protein factors because 9-cis RA induced C/EBPe mRNA accumulation in the absence of new protein synthesis. ATRA also induced expression of C/EBPe protein in NB4 cells, as shown by Western blotting. In contrast to the increase of C/EBPe in 9-cis RA–mediated granulocytic differentiation, the DMSO-induced differentiation of HL-60 cells down the granulocytic pathway was associated with an initial reduction of C/EBPe mRNA levels. In summary, we have discovered that expression of C/EBPe mRNA is markedly enhanced as the NB4 promyelocytes are induced by retinoids to differentiate towards granulocytes. This induction of C/EBPe mRNA expression is transcriptionally mediated and occurs in the absence of synthesis of additional protein factors. We suspect that the C/EBPe promoter/enhancer contains a retinoic acid-response element that is directly stimulated by retinoids.