cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Poetry as Yoga: The Spiritual Ascent of Sri Aurobindo

This essay examines the relationship of aesthetic and religious experience as evidenced by the poetry and yoga of Sri Aurobindo. The fundamental thesis is that the poetic process is transformative and as such is analogous to yoga. Governed by imagination, the poetic experience reveals itself in the categories of symbol and image. Aesthesis being directed by imagination involves not merely the cognitive but also the affective and volitional aspects of the human: a key moment of integration and therefore, of transformation. The development of Aurobindo's work and the transformation of his consciousness by imagination provides the opportunity to examine the relationship between imagination and myth. Two principal insights emerge. First, the goal of the yogic and poetic processes is the transformation of consciousness. Second, the individual's act of aspiration and surrender is neither unconscious nor a giving up of consciousness. Rather, the action of aspiration and surrender as the conscious and voluntary acceptance of the operation of imagination grounds the entire process: poetic, philosophic and yogic.
A Review of: “MODEL-BASED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING”: An Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Discrete Systems and to the Tricotyledon Theory of Systems Design, by A. Wayne Wymore, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 1993. xiii + 710 pages, ISBM 0-8493-8012-X.

(1996). A Review of: “MODEL-BASED SYSTEMS ENGINEERING”: An Introduction to the Mathematical Theory of Discrete Systems and to the Tricotyledon Theory of Systems Design, by A. Wayne Wymore, CRC Press, Boca Raton, Florida. 1993. xiii + 710 pages, ISBM 0-8493-8012-X. International Journal of General Systems: Vol. 25, No. 2, pp. 179-180.
Oncolytic Herpes Simplex Virus Engineering and Preparation

Herpes simplex virus-1 (HSV-1) is an enveloped, double-stranded DNA virus that has been used with modification as an oncolytic virus against a number of tumor types. Modifications that make HSV-1 replication--conditional, i.e., selectively divide in replicating cells make it fulfill a prerequisite criteria for oncolytic viruses. Other appealing features of HSV-1 as an oncolytic virus include its large, modifiable genome; its sensitivity to antiviral agents, such as ganciclovir; and its lack of host cell integration. Here, we review the methods of HSV-1 engineering, through traditional recombination techniques as well as through bacterial artificial chromosome (BAC) technology. We then describe protocols for titering, amplification, and purification of engineered HSV-1-derived oncolytic viruses.
Indication and Use of Electrodiagnostic Aids in Neurologic Disease

Electrodiagnostic aids, electromyography, auditory brainstem response testing, and electroencephalography are extensions of the neurologic examination and provide valuable information about the nervous system. This article discusses the use and interpretation of electrodiagnostic aids in equine neurology as well as the equipment that is employed. It is hoped that with a better understanding of the available electrodiagnostic aids, they will come into greater use.
The War Scare of 1927: Popular Perceptions

The political mobilization of Soviet society through a concerted propaganda campaign met with contradictory responses from the population. Besides igniting a rise in patriotism among young men, the militant propaganda also ignited powerful defeatist and antiSoviet sentiments among many potential conscripts, both workers and peasants. Diverse sources, originating from Communist Party local officials, the OGPU, rural correspondents, and active citizens,1 show that a large part of the population did not want to defend the Soviet regime in the event of war. Furthermore, the rural populace often threatened to turn weapons not against a possible foreign aggressor, but against local bosses. These sentiments, defined here as defeatist, comprised a powerful trend in the range of popular opinions and signalled an acute crisis of legitimating in power-society relations.
Measurement of the 6p2P3/2 state lifetime in atomic cesium.

We present a precision experimental test of atomic many-body theory that is currently applied to the interpretation of recent parity-nonconservation experiments in atomic cesium. We report the first measurement of the $^{133}\mathrm{Cs}$ 6p $^{2}$${\mathit{P}}_{3/2}$ state lifetime using resonant diode-laser excitation of a fast atomic beam. The lifetime result of 30.55\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.27 ns determines the absorption oscillator strength for the 6s $^{2}$${\mathit{S}}_{1/2}$--6p $^{2}$${\mathit{P}}_{3/2}$ transition in cesium to be 0.7133\ifmmode\pm\else\textpm\fi{}0.0064, and establishes the accuracy of recent relativistic many-body calculations of the dipole transition matrix element to 0.5%.
How climate change and regulations can affect the economics of mycotoxins

In the decades to come, the one factor that will likely have the greatest effect on the economics of the mycotoxin problem is climate change. This article reviews the current state of known science on how the global climate has been changing in recent decades, as well as likely climate change trends in the near future. The article focuses in depth on how climatic variables affect fungal infection and production of specific mycotoxins in food crops, and how near-future climatic changes will shape the prevalence of these mycotoxins in crops in different parts of the world. Because of regulatory limits set on maximum allowable levels of mycotoxins in food and feed, growers will experience economic losses if climatic factors cause certain mycotoxins to become more prevalent. A case study is presented of how maize growers in the United States will experience increased economic losses due to slightly higher aflatoxin levels in maize, even if those levels may still be below regulatory limits. We discuss the over...
Organizing for North Carolina: Social Movement Unionism in a Southern State

Across the United States, a counter-network of teacher activists is engaged in the development of grassroots organizing structures to advocate for social justice, resist the privatization of public...
Living up to my mentors

When the holiday letter failed to arrive last December, I worried. And I recalled two letters from decades earlier. I received the first during my sophomore year of high school. In it, an early-career scientist I'll call Dr. E told me another candidate had received the summer research opportunity I
Distributed decoupling of linear multiagent systems with interconnected nonlinear uncertainties

The distributed controllers that have been designed based on the decoupled nominal linear models of agents do not guarantee stabilization of the entire multiagent system in the presence of unknown nonlinearities or agents' inter-connections. In this article, we consider a class of multiagent systems with homogeneous linear time-invariant dynamics in the presence of matched or unmatched heterogeneous inter-connected unknown nonlinearity. We only measure the relative-state information and design distributed decoupling algorithms enabling agents to independently operate at their desired operating conditions. This goal is achieved by reformulating this distributed decoupling task as an equivalent leader-follower consensus problem. Finally, we investigate feasibility of the proposed ideas through simulation studies.
Measurement of the equation of state of solid-density copper heated with laser-accelerated protons.

We present equation of state (EOS) measurements of solid-density copper heated to 5--10 eV. A copper sample was heated isochorically by hydrogen ions accelerated from an adjacent foil by a high intensity pulsed laser, and probed optically. The measured temperature and expansion are compared against simulations using the most up-to-date wide range EOS tables available.
Spectroscopic photon localization microscopy: breaking the resolution limit of single molecule localization microscopy (Conference Presentation)

Distinguishing minute differences in spectroscopic signatures is crucial for revealing the fluorescence heterogeneity among fluorophores to achieve a high molecular specificity. Here we report spectroscopic photon localization microscopy (SPLM), a newly developed far-field spectroscopic imaging technique, to achieve nanoscopic resolution based on the principle of single-molecule localization microscopy while simultaneously uncovering the inherent molecular spectroscopic information associated with each stochastic event (Dong et al., Nature Communications 2016, in press). In SPLM, by using a slit-less monochromator, both the zero-order and the first-order diffractions from a grating were recorded simultaneously by an electron multiplying charge-coupled device to reveal the spatial distribution and the associated emission spectra of individual stochastic radiation events, respectively. As a result, the origins of photon emissions from different molecules can be identified according to their spectral differences with sub-nm spectral resolution, even when the molecules are within close proximity. With the newly developed algorithms including background subtraction and spectral overlap unmixing, we established and tested a method which can significantly extend the fundamental spatial resolution limit of single molecule localization microscopy by molecular discrimination through spectral regression. Taking advantage of this unique capability, we demonstrated improvement in spatial resolution of PALM/STORM up to ten fold with selected fluorophores. This technique can be readily adopted by other research groups to greatly enhance the optical resolution of single molecule localization microscopy without the need to modify their existing staining methods and protocols. This new resolving capability can potentially provide new insights into biological phenomena and enable significant research progress to be made in the life sciences.
A Potted Legal History of the Bisbee Deportation of 1917

In the summer of 1917, the town of Bisbee, Arizona illegally arrested and deported 1,186 people to New Mexico. Most of the deportees were United States citizens and members of the Industrial Workers of the World (“IWW”). They were deported because they were on strike against the mining companies that ruled Bisbee. The mining companies used the IWW’s opposition to WWI to tar the strikers as unpatriotic saboteurs and justify their deportation. But the Bisbee Deportation of 1917 also infuriated progressives and encouraged them to support organized labor.
Optimum spacing of vertical parallel plates for combined natural convection and radiation

The reliability of electronic products depends on their ability to dissipate the heat generated by various components. Application of an array of parallel plates such as a heat sink is a common example of using parallel plates in electronics cooling. The most common practice in dissipation of the heat generated by electronics is by means of natural convection. Others have investigated the optimum spacing of vertical parallel plates for the maximum natural convection heat transfer. The goal of this study is to determine the optimum spacing for the maximum combined natural convection and radiation heat transfer from an array of isothermal parallel plates. An exact correlation was obtained to determine the optimum spacing for the maximum radiation heat transfer alone. It is concluded that the optimum spacing for the combined natural convection and radiation heat transfer is similar to that of the optimum spacing of the natural convection alone. An exact correlation was also obtained to determine the optimum spacing for combined heat transfer.
Flow-Flow Models

Self-sufficient models of the flow of funds go beyond the constraints of simple identities. One type developed by Stone (1966) is a “financial input-output” model. Programming models are a closely related class. A third category can be described as a model of circular flow.
Alcohol Problems among Civilian Youth and Military Personnel

It is widely recognized that problems caused by alcohol are pervasive and costly in American society. Accompanying this recognition is a conviction, growing stronger in government circles, that young people are especially exposed to risks of harm from alcohol misuse (USDHEW, 1978). Yet there remain many unresolved questions connected with estimating such risks. Definitions of precisely what constitutes an “alcohol problem” are controversial. Data relating to the general youth population are scant. Little is known about the actual economic impact of the myriad disruptive behaviors linked to excessive drinking. These circumstances complicate the answers to a very basic prevalence question: How widespread and how serious are alcohol-related problems among young people?
Social Issues and Public Acceptance of Seawater Desalination Plants

Abstract Seawater desalination has the potential to be a major 21st century source of urban potable water. In addition to advancements in the technology of desalination, public attitudes toward desalination will help shape its ultimate role in urban water supply. A growing literature on public perception of emerging water supplies has examined responses to seawater desalination in general, as well as attitudes toward new facility installation at the planning/proposal stages, and during facility operational stages. Studies from different countries topically overlap but have reached varying conclusions on public attitudes and their drivers. Demographic variables appear to be minimally helpful in predicting support for desalination, while an individual’s active use of marine resources and strong ocean attachment are consistent predictors of lack of support. Coastal residents seem aware of subsurface ocean processes and are opposed to subsurface infrastructure development that impacts these processes. Positive or negative attitudes toward the public agencies and private companies regulating or proposing/operating desalination facilities influence whether the public supports the projects themselves. While residents of affluent coastal communities demonstrate not-in-my-backyard (NIMBY) attitudes, there are mixed results when the desalination facility is colocated with a coastal power plant in an industrial coastal area. Efforts to mitigate CO2 emissions from California desalination facilities did not meet with public support. Numerous areas for future research will help clarify public attitudes toward seawater desalination and could influence public policy processes for approving and setting operating conditions for new facilities.
The Genetics of Pregnancy Failure

Genetic competence is an essential component of an embryo’s ability to implant and progress to a normal delivery. This chapter will assess the known genetic factors that contribute to early embryo failure to implant or to miscarry after implantation. Much of our knowledge has been accumulated through analysis of products of conception which reveals that aneuploidy, particularly trisomy, is the leading cause of early pregnancy failure. The role of translocations and single gene disorders will also be examined. With the advent and rapid application of assisted reproductive technologies, knowledge regarding the preimplantation embryo has rapidly increased. A vast amount of historical data points toward genetic abnormalities related to advancing oocyte age as the leading contributor to early pregnancy failure. The in vitro fertilization experience with preimplantation genetic screening using a variety of technologies will be critically examined. Finally, the limitations of these technologies as well as future areas of research to improve genetic selection of embryos for IVF will be reviewed.
Choice Processes, Computability and Complexity: Computable Choice Functions

Ever since choice theory has established itself as part of economic theory and mathematical economics there have been attempts to axiozatize it on the basis of set theory and topology. To the extent that “human rationality” and “human problem-solving” has been taken as an anchor point for constructing “artificial intelligence” it would be natural to model human choice processes by computational procedures and by representations of computational theory.
Decomposition Techniques for Planning in Stochastic Domains

This paper is concerned with modeling planning problems involving uncertainty as discrete-time, finite-state stochastic automata Solving planning problems is reduced to computing policies for Markov decision processes. Classical methods for solving Markov decision processes cannot cope with the size of the state spaces for typical problems encountered in practice. As an alternative, we investigate methods that decompose global planning problems into a number of local problems solve the local problems separately and then combine the local solutions to generate a global solution. We present algorithms that decompose planning problems into smaller problems given an arbitrary partition of the state space. The local problems are interpreted as Markov decision processes and solutions to the local problems are interpreted as policies restricted to the subsets of the state space defined by the partition. One algorithm relies on constructing and solving an abstract version of the original decision problem. A second algorithm iteratively approximates parameters of the local problems to converge to an optimal solution. We show how properties of a specified partition affect the time and storage required for these algorithms.
Diagnostic performance of regadenoson stress CMR for detection of coronary artery disease

Background The diagnostic performance of cardiovascular magnetic resonance (CMR) utilizing adenosine for detection of myocardial ischemia is well established. However, adenosine requires continuous infusion, which is challenging in the CMR environment, and has frequent side effects. The diagnostic accuracy of stress CMR using regadenoson, a newer vasodilator agent that is administered as a single bolus injection and has fewer side effects, has not been well studied. The aims of this study were: (1) to determine the diagnostic accuracy of regadenoson stress CMR when compared to coronary angiography in patients with suspected coronary artery disease (CAD), and (2) to study outcomes in patients with negative stress CMR perfusion studies to confirm that there are not a significant number of “abnormal studies” that are undetected.
ENZYMATIC HYDROLYSIS OF CELLULOSIC MATERIALS

Abstract Cellulose is a vast regenerable reso.urce. The annual production of cellulose is over 100 billion tons. This is approximately 140 pounds per day for each and every living human being on this planet. Hydrolysis of cellulose to glucose and subsequent utilization of the glucose as a source of fuels, food, chemicals, vitamins, single cell protein, and a multitude of other useful products opens new vistas in the field of energy, food, and chemicals to augment and conserve current world energy sources. The U. S. Army Natick Research and Development Command has developed a cellulase enzyme complex capable of converting cellulosic materials into glucose sugar. The enzyme complex is produced by a mutant of Trichoderma viride developed at Natick. Over 100 types of cellulosic wastes derived from such sources as municipal trash, agricultural residues, industrial sludges and forest residues have been tested as potential sources of materials for the process. The prepilot plant now operational at Natick is capable of processing 100 to 130 pounds of cellulosic wastes per day. Sugars produced are being furnished to industry for evaluation as potential materials for the production of chemicals, foods, vitamins, alcohols, single cell protein and other useful products.
Religion, Spiritual Practices, and Well-Being

Religion, medicine, and healing have been connected in most cultures and eras. The development of scientific medicine in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries produced a practical divorce between medical care and religion. However, over four decades of research has shown that religious adherence, attendance at services, beliefs, spiritual practices, and sense of purpose in life can all impact health and longevity. This chapter explores the general impact of religion and spirituality on health, reviews research on specific elements of religious engagement and their effects on health, and examines the approaches of two Christian churches that have placed special emphasis on health and healing. The chapter also introduces religious and spiritual practices commonly used for comfort, consolation, and well-being.
Evaluating the Effectiveness of Estimating Cumulative Loading Using Linear Integration Method

Exposure to cumulative loading is a significant risk factor in the development of musculoskeletal disorders (MSD). To better understand the dose-response relationship, it is critically to quantify the cumulative exposure. Different integration methods have been used in estimating cumulative loading (force or torque). The general objective of the integration methods has been to sum the independently calculated task exposure. Each task was calculated by multiplying the magnitude of the task loading times the task duration which is the “area under the loading curve”. An assumption of this linear integration model is that long-time exposure to low forces will result in a similar level of damage as relatively short time exposure to high forces. To evaluate the effectiveness of this model, three loading groups of eccentric exercise with the same “area under the loading curve” were performed by thirty participants (ten in each group). Maximum isometric voluntary contractions (MIVC) and relaxed elbow angle (REA) were collected before, immediately after, and 2, 4, 8 days after the exercise. The REA and MIVC changes after the eccentric exercise were significantly impacted by the loading group. It suggests that estimating cumulative loading using linear integration method may underestimate the impact of high force loading in terms of cumulative muscle damage.
Risk and radiation exposure – An information poster for patients, parents and guardians

We present an information poster detailing the risks associated with a variety of examinations employing ionising radiation in a paediatric radiology department. The poster aims to explain to patients, parents and guardians, the radiation doses associated with common radiology examinations and contextualise the risk in terms that can be understood by a non-medical audience.
Free Association as the Foundation of the Psychoanalytic Method and Psychoanalysis as a Historical Science

Freud established psychoanalysis as a historical science and free association as its basic method of healing and research, differentiating a theory of method from theories of disorder. Psychoanalyt...
Microbial Ligninolysis: Toward a Bottom-Up Approach for Lignin Upgrading

Lignin, an underutilized source of biomass, is a challenging target for decomposition by both biological and nonbiological approaches. As lignin accounts for 15–40% of the dry weight of lignocellul...
The “Protection of the Competitive Process” Standard

The antitrust law should return to a standard more realistic and suited to the legal system — the “protection of the competitive process.” It posits a basic question for law enforcement and judges. Given complained-of conduct, is that conduct actually part of the competitive process, or is it a sufficient deviation as to be unlawful? In this view, antitrust law aims to create a body of common-law rules that punish and therefore deter such disruptions — hence “protecting the competitive process.”
A supply-based response to a demand-driven problem: a fifteen-year analysis of drug interdiction in Poland

This study examined one key element of drug supply-reduction policies – drug interdiction – in the Central and Eastern European country of Poland. Poland is a nation that has experienced significant social, political, and cultural changes since the fall of communism, resulting in multiple reforms to their national policing model and drug laws. Poland is also uniquely situated in Europe as a consumer nation, a transit country for drugs, and a significant source of amphetamines. These factors place additional strain on agencies responsible for drug interdiction. To-date, however, the efficacy of police-driven interdiction efforts or factors that might impact the success of such policies (e.g., funding, strength of the police force, the number of drug-related crimes detected) have not been empirically examined in this setting. Thus, this study examined officially reported data in Poland over a 15-year time period (2001 to 2015) to determine how these factors were related to the seized amounts of heroin, cocaine, amphetamine, and herbal cannabis, given the historic national context. The main findings indicated that the cannabis and amphetamine markets were strongly linked, while user-based arrests related to particular drug-types (e.g., amphetamines) were found to be significantly related to seizures of different drug-types (e.g., heroin), suggesting possible market integration. Further, government expenditures for public safety were not found to be significantly associated with interdiction efforts.
Stability of Retrospective Pregnancy Intention Reporting Among Women with Unwanted Pregnancies in the United States

Objectives Retrospective assessment of pregnancy intention may be unreliable as women's perceptions of a past conception can change over time. We compared the stability of retrospective pregnancy intention reporting over 5 years among women who sought and either received, or were denied, an abortion. Methods We recruited women from 30 abortion facilities across the United States in 2008-2010. Participants, some who received abortions and others who were denied care because they presented beyond facilities gestational limits, were followed prospectively for 5 years (n = 827). At enrollment and semiannually from year-2 to year-5, women completed the London Measure of Unplanned Pregnancy (LMUP), a six-item measure (scored 0-12), regarding the index pregnancy. We used multivariable mixed-effects models to assess the stability of retrospective reports of index pregnancy intendedness and compared trajectories by group, accounting for site and participant clustering. Our hypotheses were that intention would tend towards "more intended" over time among women denied abortions, who carried the pregnancies to term, and remain stable among women who received the abortion. Results Baseline LMUP scores were low (mean: 2.8) and similar by study group. Scores increased among women denied the abortion by year-2 (from 2.9 to 3.5; p < 0.001) and were steady through year-5. For women having near-limit abortions, reported intentions were steady between baseline (mean: 2.7) and year-2 (2.8), and declined thereafter through year-5 (to 2.5; p < 0.001). Conclusions Women somewhat shifted their perceptions of their intentions in correspondence with the pregnancy outcome. Retrospective estimates may underestimate the degree to which births result from unintended pregnancy.
The Iris Deep-Space Transponder for the SLS EM-1 Secondary Payloads

The Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) is supporting several deep-space CubeSat missions selected as secondary payloads on the Space Launch System Exploration Mission One (SLS EM-1) launch of the Orion spacecraft. Seven secondary payload CubeSat missions (Lunar Flashlight, Near-Earth Asteroid Scout, BioSentinel, Lunar IceCube, CubeSat for Solar Particles, Lunar Polar Hydrogen Mapper, and ArgoMoon) have baselined the Iris deep space transponder as the main telecommunications and navigation transponder for their missions. Iris, first developed for JPL's interplanetary nanospacecraft pathfinder in relevant environment mission, and further developed for JPL's Mars Cube One mission, is a software-defined radio based on various JPL flight heritage designs. The transponder operates at X-band frequencies (7.2-GHz uplink, 8.4-GHz downlink) for compatibility with NASA's Deep Space Network, but the modular hardware design allows for further expanded capabilities into other frequency bands such as UHF, S-, and Ka-band. The transponder has a maximum power consumption of 35 W at 4-W radio frequency output, with uplink sensitivities down to −150 dBm. Various encoding schemes are available for the user to choose, from traditional convolutional coding with Reed Solomon concatenation to Turbo codes, and support for low-density parity-check coding is in the plan for future support. This paper will discuss the current capabilities and specifications of the Iris deep space transponder, as well as current hardware, firmware, and software implementations, and provide a short overview of future capabilities currently in the works.
Experiential User-Centered Security in a Classroom: Secure Design for IoT

Convenience often trumps concerns about security in our everyday use of Internet of Things products. Cybersecurity professionals are usually expected to anticipate and eliminate these concerns as part of product development. We believe that they can join forces with user-centered designers, who are tasked to go beyond simple usability and communicate to users how to make their interactions secure. We developed a course in secure design that teaches students in cybersecurity and user-centered design to integrate usable security and information design in order to better communicate threats and emphasize key decisions to the user. As this is the first course of its kind, we conducted a study to assess students' interest and self-efficacy in the new field of secure design. This article reports the findings of this study and discusses the implications of user-centered security training of the future cybersecurity workforce.
Interpersonal Deception: IV. Effects of Suspicion on Perceived Communication and Nonverbal Behavior Dynamics.

La theorie de la deception interpersonnelle concoit la deception comme une activite de communication et examine la deception au sein de contextes interactifs. L'un des elements cle de cette theorie est le role joue par la suspicion dans l'incitation au changement de comportement. Pour l'experimentation, des couples de participants ont ete formes (moitie amis, moities inconnus). Les personnes interrogees mentaient ou disaient la verite tandis qu'on demandait aux meneurs de l'entretien d'apparaitre mefiants, moderement ou non. Les resultats confirment que la suspicion et la supercherie etaient percues lorsqu'elles existaient. La suspicion etait manifestee par des comportements non verbaux, de differents types selon les expressions moderees ou non de la suspicion et elle avait un impact sur le comportement de l'emetteur. Les relations de connaissance ont minimise certains comportements. Les resultats sont discutes en termes de processus d'influence mutuelle et de la nature dynamique de la communication dans le cas de deception interpersonnelle
An Optimal Oval

In designing horse race tracks and velodromes, clothoids, also called Euler spirals, have been used to achieve a smooth transition between straight and circular track segments. This is also a well-...
Children’s Preference for Causal Information in Storybooks

Fostering early literacy depends in part on engaging and inspiring children’s early interest in reading. Enriching the causal content of children’s books may be one way to do so, as causal information has been empirically shown to capture children’s attention. To more directly test whether children’s book preferences might be driven by causal content, we created pairs of expository books closely matched for content and complexity, but with differing amounts of causal information embedded therein. Three- and 4-year-old participants (n = 48) were read both books and their interests and preferences were evaluated. When asked to choose, children preferred the highly causal over the minimally causal books. Results are discussed in terms of broader implications for creating books that optimally engage young children, as well as guiding book selections parents and educators make in their endeavors to promote interest in reading and early literacy.
A Community-Based Intervention: A Hip Hop Framework Toward Decolonizing Counseling Spaces

The use of hip hop practices within the minority youth counseling environment have demonstrated patient improvement in areas of critical consciousness and civic mindedness, creativity and activism,...
CardioMEMSTM System in the Daily Management of Heart Failure: Review of Current Data and Technique of Implantation

Heart failure (HF) leads to significant morbidity and mortality and imposes a large economic burden. Although there have been several advances in HF monitoring and management, HF-rehospitalization ...
A case of multiple metastatic gastric cancer with primary lesion vanished after administrating nivolumab, and the effect remains even after discontinuance of therapy.

Nivolumab is one of the immune checkpoint inhibitors available for chemotherapy-resistant gastric cancer. There have been few reports of confirmed prominent shrinkage of the primary tumor and some reports of prolonged antitumor effect after discontinuance of the drug, but it is not universal. A 67-year-old male was admitted to our hospital and diagnosed with metastatic gastric cancer that had spread to the bilateral lobe of the liver, distant lymph nodes, and peritoneum. He received five courses of S-1 plus oxaliplatin, followed by three courses of ramucirumab plus paclitaxel leading to disease progression. Then, the patient was administered nivolumab as third-line therapy. Tumor size was markedly reduced after three courses, esophagogastroduodenoscopy (EGD) revealed scar formation on the lower gastric corpus after seven courses, and biopsy specimen showed no malignancy. When a slight lower limb muscle weakness manifested, possibly an immune-related adverse event (irAE) after 15 courses, we stopped administration of nivolumab. The patient has survived for 26 months since his first visit, and elimination of the primary tumor and ascites with noted shrinkage of liver and lymph node metastases have followed for more than 10 months since discontinuance of nivolumab.
Engaging practices and communities in the development of interventions to promote HPV vaccine uptake: a protocol for implementing Boot Camp Translation in the private practice setting.

Introduction The Healthy People 2020 report states a goal of 80% uptake of recommended vaccines among adolescents, including the human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccine. However, the rate of uptake of the HPV vaccine is estimated at 51% in 2018, which leaves young people vulnerable to morbidity and mortality from preventable, HPV-related cancers. Reasons for this are multifactorial and include factors at the level of the provider, primary care practice, patient and family, and community. The development of interventions that are responsive to these multifactorial barriers in real-world settings is a priority. Boot Camp Translation (BCT) is a community-engaged approach to message development for translating evidence-based practices into clinics and communities. This project aims to (1) Engage practices and communities in the development of interventions to promote HPV vaccine uptake and (2) Evaluate the impact of the BCT-designed intervention on practice-level HPV vaccine initiation rates. We hypothesise that the BCT-designed intervention will increase the rate of HPV vaccine initiation in the practices. Methods and analysis This study will implement HPV-focused BCT in three counties in Colorado with a below average county-level vaccination rate. Each BCT group will design a multipronged intervention targeted at patients, parents, providers and the general community to then be disseminated in the participating practices and communities over the subsequent 6-month period. The long-term goal is to develop a replicable approach and low-cost method of increasing HPV vaccine uptake that is easily adaptable to different settings and sociodemographic contexts. Ethics and dissemination This study is approved by the Colorado Multiple Institutional Review Board. Results will be disseminated through peer-reviewed manuscripts and conference presentations, as well as within Colorado practice-based research networks. Trial registration number NCT04279964
Analysis of power conversion technology options for a self-powered furnace

Abstract A self-powered furnace is defined as one that imports no electricity: a power cycle integrated into the furnace generates all the electrical power needed, and the heat rejected by the power cycle contributes to space heating. This paper presents criteria for selection of suitable power generation technology for such a furnace. A weighting system was presented to assign weight to each criterion based on its importance to the success of a self-powered furnace implementation. Power generation candidates were reviewed and scored based on the selection criteria. The top five candidates were analyzed to quantitatively compare the additional heat exchange requirements they impose on a baseline furnace. Air-cooled internal combustion engines and microturbine generators had negligible impact on the heat exchange requirement compared to a baseline furnace. Liquid-cooled internal combustion engines increased the heat exchange requirement by a factor of 1.5. Thermoelectric generators and thermophotovoltaic increased the heat exchange requirement by a factor of roughly 2.5. Organic Rankine cycle increased the heat exchange requirement by a factor of 5.
Risk-Informed Benefit–Cost Analysis for Homeland Security R&D: Methodology and an Application to Evaluating the Advanced Personal Protection System for Wildland Firefighters

This article describes a methodology for a risk-informed benefit–cost analysis that includes (i) risk analysis to quantify risk reduction benefits and (ii) uncertainty analyses to quantify probability distributions over costs and benefits. It also summarizes the lessons from 25 applications of this methodology to evaluate R&D projects of the Science and Technology Directorate of the Department of Homeland Security. The article then illustrates the methodology with a specific application to evaluate the benefits and costs of the Advanced Personal Protection System (APPS), a new garment system developed to protect wildland firefighters. The goals of the APPS project were to reduce risk and to improve comfort. The cost analysis revealed that the APPS garments are more expensive by about 43.7 million in 2019 dollars. This large range was primarily due to the uncertainty about the reduction of fatality and injury risks and the market penetration rates of the new garments.
COVID-19 and underlying health conditions: A modeling investigation

We propose a mathematical model based on a system of differential equations, which incorporates the impact of the chronic health conditions of the host population, to investigate the transmission dynamics of COVID-19. The model divides the total population into two groups, depending on whether they have underlying conditions, and describes the disease transmission both within and between the groups. As an application of this model, we perform a case study for Hamilton County, the fourth-most populous county in the US state of Tennessee and a region with high prevalence of chronic conditions. Our data fitting and simulation results quantify the high risk of COVID-19 for the population group with underlying health conditions. The findings suggest that weakening the disease transmission route between the exposed and susceptible individuals, including the reduction of the between-group contact, would be an effective approach to protect the most vulnerable people in this population group.
Theca cell tumors of the ovary

Abstract The clinical and pathologic data on 10 so-called theca cell tumors have been presented. These tumors occur most frequently following the menopause. They resemble granulosa cell tumors clinically, but pathologically possess certain distinguishing features which probably justify their consideration as an entity.
Differential regional response of the bushy‐tailed woodrat (Neotoma cinerea) to late Quaternary climate change

Aim To reconstruct the regional biogeographical history of the bushy-tailed woodrat, Neotoma cinerea (Rodentia: Cricetidae), across its distribution using multiple sources of information, including genetic data, ecological niche models and the palaeorecord. Location Western North America. Methods We analysed complete cytochrome b gene (1143 bp) sequences from 182 specimens of N. cinerea using Bayesian and coalescent methods to infer phylogenetic relationships, time of major divergences, and recent demographic trends. For comparison, we developed clade-specific ecological niche models for groups of interest and analysed spatial trends of N. cinerea in the palaeorecord as well as temporal frequency trends across strata of individual palaeomiddens. Results We found two largely allopatric clades within N. cinerea, with several regionally distinct subclades showing contrasting recent population dynamics. Niche models showed consistent habitat at the Last Glacial Maximum (LGM) and modern times in the Rocky Mountains and northern United States, while the Great Basin may have been markedly less suitable at the LGM than today. The palaeorecord showed great spatio-temporal variability in the presence of N. cinerea, but documents broad-scale patterns of occupancy and regional population trends. Main conclusions The Quaternary dynamics and evolutionary history of N. cinerea appear to have been shaped by both vicariant events associated with geographical barriers and the availability of suitable habitat through time. Divergence of the two major clades dates to the Pliocene–Pleistocene transition, with clades separated by the Green and Colorado rivers and northern Rocky Mountain Pleistocene glaciations. We found largely concordant genetic, niche model and palaeorecord patterns suggesting long-term population stability in the Rocky Mountains, while extant clades in the Great Basin and far north appear to have expanded or re-expanded into these regions relatively recently. Furthermore, disjunct haplotype distributions, regional demographic history, and historical distribution of suitable habitat suggest that the Great Basin has been a particularly dynamic region.
Shoulder pain and mobility deficits: adhesive capsulitis.

The Orthopaedic Section of the American Physical Therapy Association (APTA) has an ongoing effort to create evidence-based practice guidelines for orthopaedic physical therapy management of patients with musculoskeletal impairments described in the World Health Organization's International Classification of Functioning, Disability, and Health (ICF). The purpose of these clinical practice guidelines is to describe the peer-reviewed literature and make recommendations related to adhesive capsulitis. J Orthop Sports Phys Ther 2013;43(5):A1–A31. doi:10.2519/jospt.2013.0302
New bisaminoethanethiol (BAT) ligands which form two interconvertible Tc-99m complexes

Abstract Most commonly used radiopharmaceuticals in diagnostic nuclear medicine are labeled with Tc-99m. This is due to its superior physical characteristics (T12 = 6 h and gamma energy 140 KeV) and convenient availability from the 99 Mo/ 99m Tc generator. In an attempt to fine tune the properties of Tc-99m complexes, the synthesis and radiolabeling of two novel N 2 S 2 ligands, N,-2-mercaptobenzyl-N′-(1-oxo-2-mercapto-2-methyl)propyl ethylene-diamine, 8 , and N,-2-methylthiobenzyl-N′-(1-oxo-2-mercapto-2-methyl)propyl ethylenediamine, 11 , with an ionizable SH or unionizable SMe group, respectively, for the formation of complexes with Tc v O center cores, have been examined. Both ligands initially formed one apparently stable, lipophilic and neutral complex (HPLC, Rt=7 min, reverse-phase column, acetonitrile: buffer, pH 7.0; 5545; V/V; partition coefficient between 1-octanol and buffer of 410 and 335, respectively) with [ 99m Tc]pertechnetate in the presence of stannous chloride. After treatment with a reducing agent, NaCNBH 3 , the initial [ 99m Tc] 8 and 11 complexes were reduced; the reduced complexes were less lipophilic (shorter retention time, Rt=5 min, on the same reversed phase HPLC). However, only the oxidized form showed sufficient stability. The reduced forms of both [ 99m Tc] 8 and 11 were readily and completely converted back to the oxidized forms by a stream of air. Biodistribution studies in rats demonstrated that the [ 99m Tc] 8 (oxidized form) penetrated the blood-brain barrier (0.67% dose/organ at 2 min postinjection), but washed out from the brain quickly (0.29% dose/organ at 30 min postinjection). On the contrary, [ 99m Tc] 11 (oxidized form) did not show any brain uptake (0.03% dose/organ at 2 min postinjection), despite its higher lipophilicity. The disparity between these two Tc-99m complexes may be related to the relative instability of [ 99m Tc] 11 (oxidized form) by the introduction of the unionizable methylated thiol group as one of the donor ligands. Additional structure-activity relationship studies may lead to the development of new radiopharmaceuticals based on these unique new ligands.
Structure-function analysis of T4 RNA ligase 2.

Bacteriophage T4 RNA ligase 2 (Rnl2) exemplifies a polynucleotide ligase family that includes the trypanosome RNA-editing ligases and putative RNA ligases encoded by eukaryotic viruses and archaea. Here we analyzed 12 individual amino acids of Rnl2 that were identified by alanine scanning as essential for strand joining. We determined structure-activity relationships via conservative substitutions and examined mutational effects on the isolated steps of ligase adenylylation and phosphodiester bond formation. The essential residues of Rnl2 are located within conserved motifs that define a superfamily of nucleotidyl transferases that act via enzyme-(lysyl-N)-NMP intermediates. Our mutagenesis results underscore a shared active site architecture in Rnl2-like ligases, DNA ligases, and mRNA capping enzymes. They also highlight two essential signature residues, Glu34 and Asn40, that flank the active site lysine nucleophile (Lys35) and are unique to the Rnl2-like ligase family.
Sporadic dysplastic nevus syndrome in a tyrosinase-positive oculocutaneous albino

A case of dysplastic nevus syndrome in a 41-year-old tyrosinase-positive oculocutaneous albino man is presented. Clinically the patient exhibited multiple amelanotic lesions; histologic examination provided the diagnosis of dysplastic nevus syndrome. Fontana-Masson silver staining revealed the presence of melanin in the nevus cells. Hair bulbs incubated in tyrosine buffer produced melanin. This is the second reported case of dysplastic nevus syndrome in an oculocutaneous albino and the first case of dysplastic nevus syndrome in a tyrosinase-positive albino of which we are aware.
Further asymptotic expansions of the distribution of the sphericity test

In this paper new asymptotic expansions of the distributions of the sphericity test criterion are obtained in the null and the non-null case when the alternatives are close to the hypothesis. These expansions are obtained for the first time in terms of beta distributions. These appear to be better than the ones available in the literature.
Moment integrals of powers of airy functions

Difference equations for moment integrals which contain powers of the Airy functionAi(z) and its derivativeAi'(z) i.e. $$\int_0^\infty {z^n [Ai(z)]^\alpha dz,} \int_0^\infty {z^n [Ai'(z)]^\alpha dz,} $$ are obtained. These equations are easily solved for the special case of integer α. The moments occur in recent analytical attempts at solving certain nonlinear problems in Physics and Chemistry.