cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stochastic Spatial Models: A User's Guide to Ecological Applications

Spatial pattern, how it arises and how it is maintained, are central foci for ecological theory. In recent years, some attention has shifted from continuum models to spatially discrete analogues, which allow easy treatment of local stochastic effects and of non-local spatial influences. Many of these fall within the area of mathematics known as `interacting particle systems9, which provides a body of results that facilitate the interpretation of the suite of simulation models that have been considered, and point towards future analyses. In this paper we review the basic mathematical literature. Three influential examples from the ecological literature are considered and placed within the general framework, which is shown to be a powerful one for the study of spatial ecological interactions.
Asking the Right Questions About Officer Immunity

If there is a single foundational assumption in conventional thinking about official immunity doctrines, it is that “[t]he resolution of immunity questions inherently requires a balance between the evils inevitable in any available alternative.”1 On the one hand, it is thought, it would be costly and unfair to hold officials liable out of their own pockets whenever they make erroneous constitutional judgments.2 On the other hand, to deny redress to victims of constitutional violations is not only unfair to them,3 but also diminishes the significance of constitutional rights more broadly by undermining incentives for officials to stay within constitutional bounds.4 My first goal in this Essay will be to refute the assumption that official immunity doctrine necessarily requires a balance of evils. Although it is undoubtedly true (indeed, almost tautologically so) that official immunity reduces the value of rights, analysis goes wrong at the outset if it assumes that the substantive content of constitutional guarantees and the availability of causes of action to enforce them are fixed, and only then asks whether official immunity should exist as a regrettably necessary expedient. As Professor John Jeffries has observed, official immunity is not a variable among constants but, instead, is one potential variable among others. 5
“It’s Not Like Judgment Day”: Public Understanding of and Reactions to Personalized Genomic Risk Information

The value of genomic risk assessment depends upon patients making appropriate behavioral changes in response to increased risk leading to disease prevention and early detection. To date, few studies have investigated consumers’ response to personalized genomic disease risk information. To address this gap, we conducted semi-structured interviews with 60 adults participating in the Coriell Personalized Medicine Collaborative. The interviews took place after receiving results providing genomic and other risk information for up to eight common complex diseases. We found that participants were most likely to recall results which conferred an increased risk or those of particular personal interest. Participants understood the multi-factorial nature of common complex disease, and generally did not have negative emotional responses or overly deterministic perceptions of their results. Although most participants expressed a desire to use results to improve their health, a minority had actually taken action (behavior change or shared results with their doctor) at the time of the interview. These results suggest that participants have a reasonable understanding of genomic risk information and that provision of genomic risk information may motivate behavior change in some individuals; however additional work is needed to better understand the lack of change seen in the majority of participants.
Functional characteristics of heteromeric Cx40-Cx43 gap junction channel formation.

Cx40:Cx43 expression ratio in A7r5 cells is augmented in growth stimulated vs. growth arrested conditions. To determine the impact of changing Cx40:Cx43 expression ratio on gap junction function, we have developed A7r5 cell lines that display Cx40:Cx43 ratios of 1:1 (6B5n) and 10:1 (A7r540C3). When Rin43 cells were paired with these coexpressing cells, there was an increasing asymmetry of voltage dependent gating as the Cx40:Cx43 ratio increased in the coexpressing cell. This asymmetry was opposite to that which is predicted by Cx40/Cx43 heterotypic channels. In addition, when Rin43 cells were paired with coexpressing cells there was a shift toward smaller single channel event amplitudes with increasing Cx40:Cx43 ratio in the coexpressing cell. Again, this is opposite to that which is predicted by Cx40/Cx43 heterotypic channels. In dye coupling experiments, 6B5N, A7r5, and A7r540C3 cells displayed charge and size selectivity that increased with increasing Cx40:Cx43 expression ratio. These data indicate th...
FOUCAULT’S DISCURSIVE THEORY IN WAITING FOR GODOT

With the 1950s came the birth of a revolutionized literary movement that sought to express the estrangement of man from religion, meaning, and value in human life. During a time when the world was still fresh with the wounds of World War II, this mentality of hopelessness was much too familiar to most individuals. God and religion retreated to the shadows of human concerns, hidden somewhere behind the prevailing anxiety that the aloneness with which people were struggling might be the only real truth in their lives. Where was God during the Holocaust? Where was God while millions of innocent lives were brutally ruined? Where were the salvation and peace of God and religion when the world most needed them? Humanity desperately searched for some speck of reason or meaning within life’s mysteries and found only that such mysteries were to remain open questions. The lack of answers and understanding forced many to cope with feelings of detachment and solitude, sending them into an overwhelming state of despair over our apparent purposeless existence. This alienation and confusion that defined humanity’s internal struggle was revealed in the literary world through absurd drama. Absurd drama broke away from the practices of conventional theatre to introduce the world to an entirely unique form of dramatic expression. Combining Albert Camus’ notion of absurdity with a sometimes dark and cynical humor, a band of writers grouped under “The Theatre of the Absurd” outwardly accepted and exposed the vulnerability of mankind and urged the rest of humanity to do the same. One of the most well-known writers to be included in the absurd literary category is Samuel Beckett. Beckett’s play Waiting for Godot consists of a seemingly ambiguous and incoherent dialogue, which caused its initial dismissal among critics frustrated by the apparent disorder to the play. The setting of the play is quite simple: an empty stage, a dying tree, Vladimir and Estragon, two hopeless vagabonds who never leave the stage, and Pozzo and Lucky, two awkward male companions who appear throughout the play. The characters’ clothes are tattered, their body language limited, and their speech guided by a purposefully disjointed language. In time, however,
Optimization of Survivability Analysis for Large-Scale Engineering Networks

Engineering networks fall into the category of large-scale networks with heterogeneous nodes such as sources and sinks. The survivability analysis of such networks requires the analysis of the connectivity of the network components for every possible combination of faults to determine a network response to each combination of faults. From the computational complexity point of view, the problem belongs to the class of exponential time problems at least. Partially, the problem complexity can be reduced by mapping the initial topology of a complex large-scale network with multiple sources and multiple sinks onto a set of smaller sub-topologies with multiple sources and a single sink connected to the network of sources by a single link. In this paper, the mapping procedure is applied to the Florida power grid.
SFS_CODE: More Efficient and Flexible Forward Simulations

SUMMARY: Modern implementations of forward population genetic simulations are efficient and flexible, enabling the exploration of complex models that may otherwise be intractable. Here we describe an updated version of SFS_CODE, which has increased efficiency and includes many novel features. Among these features is an arbitrary model of dominance, the ability to simulate partial and soft selective sweeps, as well as track the trajectories of mutations and/or ancestries across multiple populations under complex models that are not possible under a coalescent framework. We also release sfs_coder, a Python wrapper to SFS_CODE allowing the user to easily generate command lines for common models of demography, selection, and human genome structure, as well as parse and simulate phenotypes from SFS_CODE output. Availability and Implementation: Our open source software is written in C and Python, and are available under the GNU General Public License at http://sfscode.sourceforge.net. Contact: ryan.hernandez@ucsf.edu Supplementary information: Detailed usage information is available from the project website at http://sfscode.sourceforge.net.
Intraoperative optical mapping of epileptogenic cortices during non-ictal periods in pediatric patients

Complete removal of epileptogenic cortex while preserving eloquent areas is crucial in patients undergoing epilepsy surgery. In this manuscript, the feasibility was explored of developing a new methodology based on dynamic intrinsic optical signal imaging (DIOSI) to intraoperatively detect and differentiate epileptogenic from eloquent cortices in pediatric patients with focal epilepsy. From 11 pediatric patients undergoing epilepsy surgery, negatively-correlated hemodynamic low-frequency oscillations (LFOs, ~ 0.02–0.1 Hz) were observed from the exposed epileptogenic and eloquent cortical areas, as defined by electrocorticography (ECoG), using a DIOSI system. These LFOs were classified into multiple groups in accordance with their unique temporal profiles. Causal relationships within these groups were investigated using the Granger causality method, and 83% of the ECoG-defined epileptogenic cortical areas were found to have a directed influence on one or more cortical areas showing LFOs within the field of view of the imaging system. To understand the physiological origins of LFOs, blood vessel density was compared between epileptogenic and normal cortical areas and a statistically-significant difference (p < 0.05) was detected. The differences in blood-volume and blood-oxygenation dynamics between eloquent and epileptogenic cortices were also uncovered using a stochastic modeling approach. This, in turn, yielded a means by which to separate epileptogenic from eloquent cortex using hemodynamic LFOs. The proposed methodology detects epileptogenic cortices by exploiting the effective connectivity that exists within cortical regions displaying LFOs and the biophysical features contributed by the altered vessel networks within the epileptogenic cortex. It could be used in conjunction with existing technologies for epileptogenic/eloquent cortex localization and thereby facilitate clinical decision-making.
Use of the Linear Driving Force Approximation in Adsorption Heat Pump and Chiller Modeling

Adsorption heat pumps and chillers can utilize solar or waste heat to provide space conditioning, process heating or cooling, or energy storage. In these devices, accurate modeling of intraparticle adsorbate mass transfer is an important part of predicting overall performance. The linear driving force (LDF) approximation is often used for modeling intraparticle mass transfer in place of the more detailed Fickian diffusion (FD) equation for its computational simplicity. This paper directly compares the adsorbate contents predicted by the conventional LDF approximation, an empirical LDF approximation proposed by El-Sharkawy et al. [1], and the FD equations for cylindrical adsorbent fibers such as activated carbon fiber (ACF). The conditions under which the LDFs agree with the FD equation are then evaluated. It is shown that for a given working pair, agreement between the LDF and FD equations is affected by the diffusivity, particle radius, half-cycle time, initial adsorbate content, and equilibrium adsorbate content. The maximum possible error in adsorbate content predicted by the LDF approximation compared with the FD solution is then calculated for the ACF (A-20)-ethanol working pair. Although the maximum error will be different for other cases, the technique used in this paper can be reproduced to determine the greatest possible LDF error for any working pair.© 2009 ASME
Validation of Heat Transfer Performance of Electrical Submersible Motor Using CFD

In oil field applications, the Electrical Submersible Pumping (ESP) unit (comprised of multistage pump, seal and motor) is placed inside a wellbore to provide necessary energy to lift reservoir fluids from the formation to the surface when the energy in the reservoir is not sufficient to lift the fluid to the surface. ESP motors produce heat while operating. The motors are cooled by the well fluid that passes the motor while being pumped. Many well fluids have very limited heat carrying capacity, resulting in higher operating temperature within the motor. Only a limited number of studies have been conducted that have analyzed the inside temperature rise in the motor. A parametric study has been conducted using the computational fluid dynamic software Ansys CFX to examine the profile of the temperature rise in the motor. The computational model is validated by experimental data which showed that the computational model predicts the temperature with 95% accuracy. Therefore, this computational model effectively represents the experimentally determined temperature distribution of the motor.© 2010 ASME
Learning A La Carte: A Theory-Based Tool For Maximizing Student Engagement

It is well-established that motivation is a critical component of one’s best performance of a task. A primary model in the field of motivation is the self-determination theory (SDT). The three pillars of SDT include competency, autonomy, and relatedness; when supported these have been shown to improve the quality, consistency, and persistence of one’s effort at a task. It is the purpose of this article to examine relevant SDT research, and utilize relatable trans-disciplinary findings in support of the discussion of a novel course development technique that maximizes student engagement in the higher education environment—the assessment menu
Treatment of incterus in newborn infants. Norwegian guidelines in international perspective

Jaundice is common in neonates and often requires diagnostic and therapeutic intervention. Recently a case has been made for less aggressive intervention when jaundice occurs in healthy term infants. This issue is also being discussed by Norwegian pediatricians. The present paper compares the most commonly used guidelines in Norwegian pediatrics with the results of a recent international survey of therapeutic practices in cases of neonatal jaundice. The survey documented wide variation in the approach to this common problem. Norwegian intervention limits for premature/SGA infants are generally at or above the 90th centile for the international sample, and must be said to be fairly unaggressive. The Norwegian intervention limits for term infants are generally between the median and the 75th centile. Thus they are on the less aggressive side of the international sample. Though it is likely that many term infants can tolerate quite high serum bilirubin levels without significant risk of brain damage, arguments for further elevation of the intervention limits are problematic as long as we do not have the tools to identify individuals, possibly very few, with lower tolerance.
Forms and features of exit heart block.

In virtually all instances of exit heart block, high-grade atrioventricular block is present. This conduction disturbance can occur at various levels. It is most commonly observed in junctional rhythms with accelerated impulse formation due to digitalis excess.
Surface-Enhanced Raman Spectroscopy Detection of Ricin B Chain in Human Blood

Over the past few years, ricin has been discussed frequently because of letters sent to high-ranking government officials containing the easily extracted protein native to castor beans. Ricin B chain, commercially available and not dangerous when separated from the A chain, enables development of ricin sensors while minimizing the hazards of working with a bioterror agent that does not have a known antidote. Recent events have increased the risk of ricin exposure for civilians, and there is a need for rapid, real-time detection of ricin. To this end, aptamers have been used recently as an affinity agent to enable the detection of ricin in food products via surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy (SERS) on colloidal substrates. One goal of this work is to extend ricin sensing into human whole blood; this goal requires application of a commonly used plasmonic surface, the silver film-over-nanosphere (AgFON) substrate, which offers stable SERS enhancement factors of 106 in human whole blood. Herein, this aptamer...
Constructional Fast Mapping

0. Introduction In learning a language, children must generalize over the utterances they hear so that they can creatively produce and understand utterances they have never heard before(Chomsky, 1957). Statistical properties of language have been demonstrated to be key in enabling the necessary formal generalizations (Childers and Tomasello, 2002; Gomez, 2002; Saffran, 2001; Saffran et al., 1996). However, no one has investigated experimentally how children come to learn mappings between novel phrasal forms and novel meanings: exactly the task that presents itself to learners in natural settings. The results reported here demonstrate that with surprisingly minimal input, children are able to generalize beyond their experience; moreover, the high token frequency of a single exemplar, which has been found to exist in naturalistic input to children, is demonstrated to have a facilitory effect. While the fast mapping might be taken as an indication of innate, language-specific knowledge, we argue on the contrary, that parallel results reported in a non-linguistic categorization task indicate that an appeal to an innate language faculty is not required in this particular domain. Children learning language must come to know correlations between phrasal patterns and meanings, so that when they hear novel verbs in utterances such as She text-messaged him the directions, they are able to discern in a general way what that new utterance means: in this case something like “She GAVE him the directions using text messaging” (Goldberg, 1995; Landau and Gleitman, 1985). This is something on which all linguistic and psycholinguistic theories agree; there exist correlations between phrasal forms and meanings. The results reported here demonstrate that with quite minimal input, children can learn these correlations and can generalize on the basis of them. Moreover, we demonstrate that the learning is also critically facilitated by a high number of instances of a single verb type. This sort of statistical “skewing” of the input, where a restricted subset of types of utterances accounts for the preponderance of total utterances, is exactly what is found in naturalistic speech to children for a number of types of language patterns (Cameron-Faulkner et al., to appear; Diessel, 2002; Thompson
TSVs embedded in a microfluidic heat sink: High-frequency characterization and thermal modeling

This paper demonstrates the integration of microfluidic cooling for thermally limited 3-D microsystem applications. Thermal modeling of logic and memory dice on a silicon interposer is presented under air and microfluidic cooling conditions. Moreover, the electrical characteristics of micropin-fin-embedded through silicon vias (TSVs) immersed in deionized (DI) water are investigated through high-frequency measurements. The TSV capacitance and conductance are extracted from the measurements. The measurement results show that the capacitance and conductance of the TSVs increase as the micropin-fin diameter decreases at a fixed TSV pitch at high frequencies.
Is it Automatic?: The Mens Rea Presumption and the Interpretation of the Machinegun Provision of 18 U.S.C. § 924(c) in United States v. Burwell

In United States v. Burwell, the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit reviewed en banc the question of whether the Government must prove that the Defendant knew of the firearm’s automatic capability before invoking 18 U.S.C. § 924(c)(1)(B)(ii)’s mandatory thirtyyear minimum sentence. The majority affirmed the Defendant’s conviction, holding that the D.C. Circuit’s previous holding in United States v. Harris determined that no mens rea applies to the machinegun provision. The dissenting opinion, however, argued that the Supreme Court’s decision in United States v. O’Brien, in which the Court held that the automatic capability of the firearm was an element of the offense, calls for the mens rea presumption to extend to that element. This Comment explains the differences in interpretation of the mens rea presumption between the majority and dissent, and argues that the dissenting opinion more accurately reflects the fundamental principles of the mens rea presumption.
Effect of Smoke and Spice Oils on Growth of Molds on Oil-Coated Cheeses.

Smoke oils and spice oils were evaluated for potential inhibition of spoilage molds in oil-coated cheeses. The molds tested were Aspergillus parasiticus , Penicillium camemberti , and Penicillium roqueforti . Cheeses coated with olive oil or sunflower oil had a longer lag period for growth of A. parasiticus . Penicillium camemberti and A. parasiticus showed a faster rate of growth on cheeses coated with olive oil. Spice oils were blended with olive oil at levels of 10 and 20 mg/ml and rubbed on cheeses. Cheeses with 10 mg/ml spice oil blends did not exhibit any antifungal effects. At 20 mg/ml, cinnamon oil increased the lag period for P. camemberti while allspice increased the lag period for P. roqueforti . All spice oils tested decreased the growth rate for P. camemberti while rosemary, sage, cinnamon, black pepper, and clove inhibited the growth of A. parasiticus . Only black pepper oil reduced the growth rate of P. roqueforti . Mesquite smoke oil increased the lag period for A. parasiticus and P. camemberti and decreased the growth rate for all three molds. Results of this study showed that certain flavorings used for specialty cheeses can also be effective in controlling spoilage molds.
Court Transparency and the First Amendment

“Publicity is the very soul of justice,” legal philosopher Jeremy Bentham wrote in 1827. Regrettably, lady justice is at risk of losing her soul. In courts across the country, secrecy is increasingly the norm. Indeed, the extent of secrecy in American courts is astonishing, especially given the assumption by many that the First Amendment guarantees a right of public access to the courts. In reality, the United States Supreme Court has explicitly held only that there is a First Amendment right of public access to criminal trials and pre-trial proceedings. The Court has never addressed the question of whether there is a constitutional right of access to civil proceedings or to court records. Moreover, the Court’s last pronouncement on this issue occurred more than a quarter of a century ago and left the lower courts with a confusing and inconsistent doctrinal roadmap for dealing with public access questions. In the intervening decades, public access to the courts has been quietly under siege. This is a critical time for court transparency because the courts, like so many institutions of government, are in the midst of a transformation from the largely paper-based world of the twentieth century to an interconnected, electronic world where physical and temporal barriers to information are disappearing. Not surprisingly, the shift to electronic access to the courts can implicate important privacy interests. As a result of these and other concerns, a number of courts and legislatures are considering sharply limiting public access to certain court proceedings and records. We can, however, put court transparency on a firm theoretical foundation by focusing on the structural role the First Amendment plays in our constitutional system. In doing so, this Article makes two related arguments. First, a central purpose of the First Amendment is to ensure that citizens can effectively participate in and contribute to our republican system of self-government. Second, in order to effectuate this goal, the First Amendment must be understood to embody an affirmative right of access to information held by the courts, which by virtue of their unique institutional position possess information that is essential for the public to effectively evaluate the workings of government and therefore to act as sovereigns over the government. Drawing on these conclusions, this Article reworks existing First Amendment doctrine to shift the emphasis away from the question of whether the public has a right of access to individual judicial proceedings or records to whether the interests supporting secrecy outweigh the structural benefits of public access. This reworking of public access doctrine provides a principled way for courts to evaluate the interests in secrecy while at the same time ensuring that the public’s right of access to the courts is retained.
Biaxial mechanical properties of bovine jugular venous valve leaflet tissues

Venous valve incompetence has been implicated in diseases ranging from chronic venous insufficiency (CVI) to intracranial venous hypertension. However, while the mechanical properties of venous valve leaflet tissues are central to CVI biomechanics and mechanobiology, neither stress-strain curves nor tangent moduli have been reported. Here, equibiaxial tensile mechanical tests were conducted to assess the tangent modulus, strength and anisotropy of venous valve leaflet tissues from bovine jugular veins. Valvular tissues were stretched to 60% strain in both the circumferential and radial directions, and leaflet tissue stress-strain curves were generated for proximal and distal valves (i.e., valves closest and furthest from the right heart, respectively). Toward linking mechanical properties to leaflet microstructure and composition, Masson's trichrome and Verhoeff-Van Gieson staining and collagen assays were conducted. Results showed: (1) Proximal bovine jugular vein venous valves tended to be bicuspid (i.e., have two leaflets), while distal valves tended to be tricuspid; (2) leaflet tissues from proximal valves exhibited approximately threefold higher peak tangent moduli in the circumferential direction than in the orthogonal radial direction (i.e., proximal valve leaflet tissues were anisotropic; [Formula: see text]); (3) individual leaflets excised from the same valve apparatus appeared to exhibit different mechanical properties (i.e., intra-valve variability); and (4) leaflets from distal valves exhibited a trend of higher soluble collagen concentrations than proximal ones (i.e., inter-valve variability). To the best of the authors' knowledge, this is the first study reporting biaxial mechanical properties of venous valve leaflet tissues. These results provide a baseline for studying venous valve incompetence at the tissue level and a quantitative basis for prosthetic venous valve design.
Comparing chronic condition rates using ICD-9 and ICD-10 in VA patients FY2014–2016

Management of patients with chronic conditions relies on accurate measurement. It is unknown how transition to the ICD-10 coding system affected reporting of chronic condition rates over time. We measured chronic condition rates 2 years before and 1 year after the transition to ICD-10 to examine changes in prevalence rates and potential measurement issues in the Veterans Affairs (VA) health care system. We developed definitions for 34 chronic conditions using ICD-9 and ICD-10 codes and compared the prevalence rates of these conditions from FY2014 to 2016 in a 20% random sample (1.0 million) of all VA patients. In each year we estimated the total number of patients diagnosed with the conditions. We regressed each condition on an indicator of ICD-10 (versus ICD-9) measurement to obtain the odds ratio associated with ICD-10. Condition prevalence estimates were similar for most conditions before and after ICD-10 transition. We found significant changes in a few exceptions. Alzheimer’s disease and spinal cord injury had more than twice the odds of being measured with ICD-10 compared to ICD-9. HIV/AIDS had one-third the odds, and arthritis had half the odds of being measured with ICD-10. Alcohol dependence and tobacco/nicotine dependence had half the odds of being measured in ICD-10. Many chronic condition rates were consistent from FY14–16, and there did not appear to be widespread undercoding of conditions after ICD-10 transition. It is unknown whether increased sensitivity or undercoding led to decreases in mental health conditions.
Experimental study of cursed equilibrium in a signaling game

The laboratory experiment described in this paper provides evidence on play in signaling games in the context of electoral competition. In this game, voters must infer the preferred policy of each candidate from the candidate’s choice of whether to announce (truthfully) his preferred policy or to take no position. Bayesian voters would put high probability on a candidate having an extreme policy preference after observing him take no position, but cursed voters would not fully appreciate the informational content of the decision to take no position. Stated beliefs reveal substantial uncertainty about other players’ strategies. Based on estimates of a structural model of cursed equilibrium allowing for heterogeneity in the degree of cursedness, 32% of choices between candidates are consistent with Bayesian updating, 32% imply no inferences about others’ types after observing their actions, and the remainder indicate partial updating. Though the experiment also includes treatments with subjects in both roles, these estimates are based on interactions with programmed candidates, implying that uncertainty about others’ rationality and strategic sophistication is not driving the result. We also find that the quantal response error structure in which errors depend on payoff differences cannot explain the pattern of errors that subjects make.
Ionophore-based optical nanosensors incorporating hydrophobic carbon dots and a pH-sensitive quencher dye for sodium detection

Nanosensors present a biological monitoring method that is biocompatible, reversible, and nano-scale, and they offer many advantages over traditional organic indicators. Typical ionophore-based nanosensors incorporate nile-blue derivative pH indicators but suffer from photobleaching while quantum dot alternatives pose a potential toxicity risk. In order to address this challenge, sodium selective nanosensors containing carbon dots and a pH-sensitive quencher molecule were developed based on an ion-exchange theory and a decoupled recognition element from the pH indicator. Carbon dots were synthesized and integrated into nanosensors containing a pH-indicator, an analyte-binding ligand (ionophore), and a charge-balancing additive. These nanosensors are ion-selective against potassium (selectivity coefficient of 0.4) and lithium (selectivity coefficient of 0.9). Reversible nanosensor response to sodium is also demonstrated. The carbon dot nanosensors are resistant to changes in optical properties for at least 12 h and display stable selectivity to physiologically-relevant sodium (alpha = 0.5 of 200 mM NaCl) for a minimum of 6 days.
Mechanisms of action of taxanes in prostate cancer.

Taxanes appear to have significant clinical activity in hormone-refractory prostate cancer and are entering increasing numbers of clinical trials. In general, they appear to initiate the apoptotic process by binding to beta-tubulin and promoting its polymerization. However, it is possible, at least in prostate cancer cell lines, that the ultimate decision for or against apoptosis may be modulated by a number of factors, including levels of Bcl-family members, especially the antiapoptotic proteins bcl-2 and bcl-xL. Differences in the cellular pharmacology of docetaxel (Taxotere; Rhone-Poulenc Rorer, Collegeville, PA) and paclitaxel have been identified. Docetaxel has a somewhat higher affinity for microtubules than paclitaxel (approximately twofold), and in some circumstances may be a more potent inducer of bcl-2 phosphorylation. However, it is not clear whether these docetaxel-induced events are directly related to its antiprostate cancer effects. In murine macrophages, paclitaxel, but not docetaxel, induces several proinflammatory genes, but it is not known whether this occurs in prostate cancer cells. The mechanisms of cytotoxicity of taxanes in prostate cancer are undoubtedly complex and will require considerable additional study to fully understand.
Self-referent upward counterfactuals and depression: Examining regret as a mediator

Previous research has found that self-referent upward counterfactuals are associated with depression. However, empirical evidence regarding the way self-referent upward counterfactuals exert their ...
Full-scale dynamic touch-and-go validation of the BiBlade comet surface sample chain

This paper presents the validation of the end-to-end BiBlade comet surface sampling chain, including Touch-and-Go (TAG) activities. The sampling chain consists of the BiBlade sampler, a structural compliant interface to a would-be spacecraft, a 3 degree-of-freedom planar robotic arm, a sample volume measurement device, and two sample vaults. The end-to-end sample chain is integrated into a purpose built full-scale dynamic spacecraft emulator, enabling to be performed the full sequence from surface approach to collected sample storage. Touchdown, sample triggering, sample acquisition, and ascent from surface are a critical set of sequences dependent on spacecraft dynamics and the sampler interaction with a comet surface. Of special importance are the rotational and linear inertias provided by the 2200kg spacecraft emulator during TAG operations. The full-scale dynamic spacecraft emulator is intended to validate these complex interactions between the sampler, comet surface simulants, and spacecraft mass. The full-scale dynamic Touch-and-Go spacecraft emulator consists of a 2200kg mass on a frictionless, planar air bearing system, 14 horizontal air thrusters providing 3 degree-of-freedom motion, onboard computing for motion control, and an off-board motion capture system providing localization. This robotic testbed can approach a simulated comet surface in a controlled fashion to validate the BiBlade TAG performance in nominal and off-nominal approach velocity scenarios. Following TAG, sample transfer, volume verification, and storage is performed.
Suppression of Premature Senescence and Promotion of Metastatic Transformation: Role of Reduced TGF-Beta Signaling in Human Cancer Progression

Transforming growth factor-beta (TGF-β) signaling pathway serves as a tumor suppressor by inhibiting cell cycle progression and stimulating senescence and apoptosis in normal and early-stages neoplastic tissues. As tumors progress, TGF-β signaling is often turned to drive multi-step metastasis processes by stimulating cell survival and epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT) leading to tumor cell migration and invasion. Many human carcinomas including triple-negative breast cancer, often show reduced or loss of key components of TGF-β signaling, indicating reduced tumor-suppressive TGF-β signaling may contribute to the cancer progression. However, molecular mechanisms that drive the switch of TGF-β are not well understood. Few molecular biomarkers have been identified as efficient indicators for the anti-TGF-β cancer therapy. In order to better understand the mechanism mediating the role of TGF-β during cancer progression, we will discuss the question of how the loss of control of cell proliferation and senescence by TGF-β promotes tumor invasion and metastasis and whether a set of transformation/metastasis-related genes are specifically regulated by TGF-β signaling.
The Concept of the Differential

English translation of Moritz Pasch,“Der Begriff des Differentials,” Annalen der Philosophie und philosophischen Kritik 4 (1924), pp. 161–187. Hans Vaihinger (co-founder of the Annalen der Philosophie) argued that various mathematical theories cannot be true because close inspection shows them to be absurd. Since Vaihinger recognized the utility of these theories, he confronted the problem of explaining how absurd theories can be useful. Pasch insists there is no need for such an explanation because the theories Vaihinger found absurd are, in fact, logically impeccable. To support this claim, Pasch offers a quick overview of the foundations of differential calculus and a more detailed analysis of Fermat’s rule for maxima and minima.
Adjudicating Deep Time: Revisiting the United States’ High-Level Nuclear Waste Repository Project at Yucca Mountain

This paper draws upon perspectives on legal personhood, expert knowledge-practices, and social relations influential in STS and Anthropology to revisit the legal-procedural framing of the United States’ now-defunct high-level nuclear waste repository project at Yucca Mountain. Specifically, it examines how this project reinvented both (a) conventional figures of legal personhood as what is called a ‘reasonably maximally exposed individual’ and (b) legal adjudication’s familiar ‘rule-facts-judge’ template as a frame for establishing the repository licensing regime’s delegation of roles, responsibilities, and duties in response to its unique regulatory horizons that extended millennia into the future. Unpacking the implications of these familiar legal figures being brought to bear on historically unprecedented ‘deep’ timescales, this paper concludes by offering alternative lines of inquiry for interdisciplinary analysis of nuclear energy and its associated waste products that were revealed in developing this case study of the Yucca Mountain Project.
Production, Quenching and Reaction of Vibrationally Excited Ions in Collisions with Neutrals in Drift Tubes

The Flowing Afterglow Technique (Ferguson et al., 1969) provided the first chemically versatile method for measuring ion-molecule reactions at room temperature, later extended from 80K to 900K (Lindinger et al., 1974). Positive and negative ions of great variety can be studied, including metal ions, heavily solvated ions, doubly charged positive ions, electronically excited ions and now vibrationally excited ions. A variety of neutrals including H, O, N atoms, OH radicals O3, H2O2, HNO3, H2SO4 and N2O5 have been reacted with ions in the Flowing Afterglow. Reactions of ions with vibrationally excited N2 (Schmeltekopf et al., 1968) and H2 (Jones et al., 1986) have been carried out. The chemical versatility is unmatched by any other technique.
Surface sensibility of the floor of the mouth and tongue in healthy controls and in radiated patients

Increased areas of anesthesia in the oral cavity have been shown to significantly impair oral function in normal individuals. In patients who undergo oral cavity reconstruction, loss of sensation plays a major role in producing disturbances in postoperative oral function. Free tissue transfer techniques have permitted the problem of sensory loss to be addressed through the use of sensate cutaneous free flaps, in which microneural anastomoses are performed between a sensory nerve supplying the flap and a recipient nerve in the head and neck. To critically assess the results of such reconstructions, the effect of sensory restoration on oral cavity rehabilitation must be studied. As a first step toward this goal, normal values for sensory discrimination of the floor of mouth and tongue are needed. Previous studies of oral sensation failed to examine the ventral tongue and floor of mouth. The purpose of this study is to determine the surface sensibility of these regions in healthy patients and in patients who received radiation therapy to the oral cavity. Sensation was evaluated using static and moving two-point discrimination in 90 healthy subjects divided equally into three age groups: 20 to 40 years, 41 to 60 years, and 61 to 80 years. In addition, 20 patients who received radiation therapy were studied. The mucosa of the dorsal and ventral aspects of the lateral tongue, tongue tip, and floor of mouth was examined. The tongue tip is the most sensitive area, followed by the dorsal lateral tongue, ventral lateral tongue, and floor of mouth. The effects of age and radiation therapy on sensory discrimination are discussed.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)
Revisiting the roles of protein synthesis during skeletal muscle hypertrophy induced by exercise.

Protein synthesis is deemed the underpinning mechanism enhancing protein balance required for skeletal muscle hypertrophy in response to resistance exercise. The current model of skeletal muscle hy...
Geophysical Techniques for Monitoring Settlement Phenomena Occurring in Reinforced Concrete Buildings

Geophysical investigations could provide a valid tool for the identification of possible causes of settlement phenomena that affect civil buildings. They provide a non-invasive method of obtaining high-resolution information about the subsoil, saving time and money. However, uncertainties related to the accurate interpretation of the acquired data could potentially reduce the value of these methods. For this reason, the integration of non-invasive tests with direct measurements to support geophysical data interpretation is strongly recommended. This is a fundamental step in the process of defining a sufficiently reliable geological model to explain the cause of failure. Among the various geophysical techniques, electrical resistivity tomography and ground penetrating radar offer significant advantages for monitoring the status of the conservation of civil engineering structures and infrastructures. This paper presents the most recent and beneficial advances of the use of electric and electromagnetic geophysical methods in the field of civil engineering, with particular attention to their applications for monitoring subsidence and settlement phenomena. Finally, the possibilities of the joint use of resistivity and electromagnetic methods for studying the causes of the structural decay that affects two precast buildings are monitored and discussed. The results demonstrate the capability of combining non-destructive geophysical techniques with direct data, for evaluating the safety of building constructions and solving geotechnical problems.
Imidazotetrazines as Weighable Diazomethane Surrogates for Esterifications and Cyclopropanations

Diazomethane is one of the most versatile reagents in organic synthesis, but its utility is limited by its hazardous nature. Although alternative methods exist to perform the unique chemistry of diazomethane, these suffer from diminished reactivity and/or correspondingly harsher conditions. Herein, we describe the repurposing of imidazotetrazines (such as temozolomide, TMZ, the standard of care for glioblastoma) for use as synthetic precursors of alkyl diazonium reagents. TMZ was employed to conduct esterifications and metal-catalyzed cyclopropanations, and results show that methyl ester formation from a wide variety of substrates is especially efficient and operationally simple. TMZ is a commercially available solid that is non-explosive and non-toxic, and should find broad utility as a replacement for diazomethane.
Prenatal dietary exposures and offspring body size from 6 months to 18 years: A systematic review.

Background In utero dietary exposures may influence childhood obesity. Objectives To evaluate the relationship between prenatal dietary exposures and offspring body size from 6 months to 18 years. Data sources Articles were identified in PubMed and Web of Science (January 2010-March 2018) using the PRISMA guidelines. Additional studies were identified through a reference review of articles that met the inclusion criteria and related reviews. Study selection Prospective cohort studies that assessed dietary patterns, foods, macronutrients, or beverages during healthy pregnancy and offspring body size. The extraction of articles was done using predefined data fields. Synthesis One author extracted all information and evaluated bias with the NHLBI's Quality Assessment Tool. Results A total of 851 research articles were evaluated. Twenty-one studies assessing dietary patterns, macronutrients, foods, and beverages met inclusion criteria. Consumption of a Mediterranean dietary pattern during pregnancy was associated with reduced body size, while refined carbohydrates were associated with offspring obesity. No association was observed between data-driven dietary patterns and offspring body size, as well as a pro-inflammatory diet pattern and offspring body size. Mixed and null findings were observed for the relationship between total carbohydrates, n-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids, protein, sugar-sweetened beverages, and artificially sweetened beverages and offspring body size. Conclusions Adhering to a Mediterranean diet and limiting refined carbohydrates during pregnancy may influence offspring body size between 6 months and 18 years. The diverging results that exist between studies highlight the complexity of this topic.
Observed versus Expected Ischemic and Bleeding Events Following Left Atrial Appendage Occlusion

Data on the efficacy of left atrial appendage occlusion (LAAO) in clinical practice are limited. We performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of observational studies that reported observed versus expected rates of ischemic strokes and/or major bleeding following LAAO. Our primary end points were the pooled relative risk reduction (RRR) in ischemic stroke and major bleeding with corresponding 95% confidence intervals compared with what was expected by the CHA2DS2-VASc and HASBLED scores, respectively. Twenty-nine studies including 11,071 patients (age 74.0 ± 8.7 years, 60% males) met the inclusion criteria. The mean CHA2DS2-VASc score was 4.22 ± 1.48, and the mean HASBLED score was 3.04 ± 1.16. During 19,567 patient-year follow-up, 290 of 11,071 patients (2.62%) suffered an acute ischemic stroke. This represented a 73.6% (95% confidence interval 68.9-78.2%) RRR in ischemic strokes compared with what was expected based on the CHA2DS2-VASc score. A total of 26 studies reported observed versus expected major bleeding (10,056 patients; age 74.0 ± 8.7, 60% males). During 16,967 patient-year follow-up, 404 of 10,056 patients (4.0%) suffered a major bleeding event. This represented a 55% (95% confidence interval 44.2% to -65.9%) RRR in major bleeding compared with what was expected based on the HASBLED score. These estimates were consistent across subgroups stratified according to age, CHADS2VASc, HASBLED scores and type of LAAO device used. In conclusion, LAAO is associated with a favorable observed/expected ratio with regards to ischemic stroke and major bleeding in clinical practice. Future clinical trials remain essential to further assess the efficacy of LAAO via a direct comparison with oral anticoagulation.
Low Back Pain and Swelling as an Atypical Presentation of IgA Vasculitis.

Author(s): Winkler, Clay T.; Dobson, Raymond W.; Tranovich, Michael J. | Abstract: Introduction: Immunoglobulin A vasculitis (IgA vasculitis), formerly Henoch-Schonlein purpura, is the most common vasculitis in children.Case Report: A 6-year-old female presented with low back pain and swelling, difficulty ambulating, and rash two weeks after a respiratory infection. She was approached with a broad differential and ultimately diagnosed with IgA vasculitis.Discussion: Cutaneous manifestations, arthralgias, renal and gastrointestinal involvement are the most common presenting signs of IgA vasculitis. Only two cases of IgA vasculitis associated with lumbar pain and swelling were identified in the literature.Conclusion: While rash and joint pain are common presenting signs of IgA vasculitis, practitioners should be aware it can present atypically.