cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Effect of systemic yohimbine on the control of skin blood flow during local heating and dynamic exercise

We previously demonstrated that systemic α 1 -adrenergic blockade (prazosin) does not alter control of nonacral human skin blood flow (SkBF) during prolonged exercise. The purpose of this investigation was to examine the effects of systemic α 2 -adrenergic blockade on, thus the potential contribution of α 2 -adrenergic vasoconstriction (VC) to, control of SkBF during graded local heating and dynamic leg exercise. Five health men (aged 24-30 yr) were tested after 36 h of oral yohimbine (Y; a sective α 2 -antagonist) treatment, or no drug [control (C)]
Scarless wound healing: finding the right cells and signals

From the moment we are born, every injury to the skin has the potential to form a scar, many of which can impair form and/or function. As such, scar management constitutes a billion-dollar industry. However, effectively promoting scarless wound healing remains an elusive goal. The complex interactions of wound healing contribute to our inability to recapitulate scarless wound repair as it occurs in nature, such as in fetal skin and the oral mucosa. However, many new advances have occurred in recent years, some of which have translated scientific findings from bench to bedside. In vivo lineage tracing has helped establish a variety of novel cellular culprits that may act as key drivers of the fibrotic response. These newly characterized cell populations present further targets for therapeutic intervention, some of which have previously demonstrated promising results in animal models. Here, we discuss several recent studies that identify exciting approaches for diminishing scar formation. Particular attention will also be paid to the canonical Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway, which plays an important role in both embryogenesis and tissue repair. New insights into the differential effects of Wnt signaling on heterogeneous fibroblast and keratinocyte populations within the skin further demonstrate methods by which wound healing can be re-directed to a more fetal scarless phenotype.
Prevalence and Correlates of Missing Meals Among High School Students—United States, 2010

Purpose:To determine the prevalence and correlates of missing meals among adolescents.Design:The 2010 National Youth Physical Activity and Nutrition Study, a cross-sectional study.Setting:School ba...
Nativity, duration of residence and the life course pattern of extended family living in the USA

Recent changes in US immigration policy anddomestic welfare policies affecting immigrants haveled to concerns that families will face greaterpressure to provide for extended family members.Extended family households are important resources fornew immigrants to the USA and an integral part of theadaptive strategy of immigrants. This paper examinesthe competing roles of duration of residence in theUSA, aging and changes over time in explainingincreases in extended family living between 1980 and1990. The results from a pooled sample of 1980 and1990 Census data indicate that recent arrivals aremore likely to share households with extended kin butit is older immigrants who face an increasedlikelihood of such coresidence over time. Multinomiallogistic regression analysis demonstrates that thelife course pattern of coresidence remains whenchanges in socioeconomic status are controlled. Theresults suggest that policy changes limiting publicfunds available to new arrivals will have a largerimpact on families sponsoring older family members.
The convergence of physical/digital worlds: implications on workloads & architecture

As sensing and computing have become ultra-low power and ubiquitous, we have entered an era of physical/digital convergence. This physical/digital convergence is bringing about new opportunities (usages) as well as challenges (end-to-end architectures). The talk will show examples ranging from static sensing and simple data analytics to the emerging (r)evolution towards artificial intelligence. Using these examples, I will attempt to outline areas of research in workload analysis as well as novel end-to-end architectures.
GHz devices from epitaxial graphene on SiC

The advent of the world's first graphene RF field effect transistors (FETs) fabricated on epitaxial graphene (EG) grown on 50.8 mm SiC semi-insulating wafers has given rise to a new electronic device technology. The EG RF FETs had f max of 14 GHz at 5 Vds for 2 μm gate widths [1] and results are expected to improve as gate widths are scaled down. Performance metrics on wafer scale EG electronic devices will improve as key materials issues are addressed. Some of these key materials issues are morphology and thickness control, enhanced mobility, uniformity of sheet carrier density and resistivity. In this presentation, we provide details on our approach using Si sublimation from SiC substrates for growing EG on 50.8 mm diameter SiC wafers and discuss the impact of key material issues on RF device performance. A commercial Aixtron VP508 SiC epitaxial growth reactor was use to form epitaxial graphene on the Si- and C-faces of 4H- and 6H-SiC semi-insulating 0° oriented substrates at temperatures from approximately 1225 to 1700°C and for times ranging from 10 to 300 min. Substrates were 16 × 16 mm coupons and 50.8 mm diameter wafers. Synthesis conditions were an improvement on the work presented at the 7th ECSCRM 2008 [2] and used both the in-vacuo (10-6 to 10-4 mbar) and Ar ambient (50–200 mbar) Si sublimation process. EG was characterized by a wide array of tools including atomic force, scanning electron, Nomarksi and scanning tunneling microscopies, Raman spectroscopy, x-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, Hall effect, and Lehighton contactless resistivity and mobility wafer probe. High mobilities were observed for 10×10 μm2 Hall samples, Fig. 1, fabricated from coupon substrates. Optimization of EG growth on 50 mm Si-face wafers using the in-vacuo process resulted in an excellent relative resistivity uniformity of 2.8% and record 300 K Hall mobilities up to 2700 cm V-1 s-1 were found. Using Raman spectroscopy mapping of the 2D peak, it was determined that: (1) the majority of the film was monolayer EG, (2) two layers of EG could be found at step edges and (3) the EG was continuous across the wafer. RF FETs fabricated using photolithography on the latest optimized wafer-scale EG exhibited state-of-the-art ambipolar behavior, Ion/Ioff ratios and peak transconductances. Fig. 2 shows (a) an example wafer with fabricated FETs, (b) a scanning electron micrograph of a FET, and (c) a device IV curve. Frequency performance metrics were established for these devices such as fT•Lg products of 10 GHz•μm and fmax of 14 GHz. Most encouragingly, gate delay was 2 pm μm-1. We will discuss the impact of key material parameters associated with EG for these record results as well as the impact of Ar ambient controlled graphenization on future RF devices.
A five-session interprofessional team immersion program for health professions students

Abstract The interprofessional team immersion (IPTI) is a developmental, longitudinal, and sustainable curricular resource that was designed in response to student requests for small, interactive, cross-professional learning experiences. Learning objectives are aligned with behaviors as identified in the Core Competencies for Interprofessional Practice and aim to increase students' understanding of each other's roles and responsibilities, to apply teamwork principles, to refine communication skills for contextualized person-centered practice, and to utilize knowledge in the presentation of a collective project. Instructional formats include a team-building exercise, case-based learning, and simulation. Pre- and post-session evaluation measured students' attitudinal and behavioral changes. Rapid cycle program evaluation used student feedback to continuously improve the quality of the learning experience. Overall students found IPTI to increase their knowledge of other professions, build confidence in their team skills, and provide a basis for working collaboratively in their future workplace settings. Program evaluation feedback reinforced the efficacy of small group, interactive learning and full faculty engagement in IPE learning activities. Both a successful and sustainable shared learning activity, IPTI offers generalizable content, instructional approaches, and assessment strategies for other institutions seeking transformative team-based learning experiences.
Ingestion of swimming pool water by recreational swimmers

The volume of water ingested by swimmers while swimming is of great interest to individuals who develop risk assessments using quantitative microbial risk assessment or epidemiological approaches. We have used chloroisocyanurate disinfected swimming pool waters to determine the amount of water swallowed by swimmers during swimming activity. The chloroisocyanurate, which is in equilibrium with chlorine and cyanuric acid in the pool water, provides a biomarker, cyanuric acid, that once swallowed passes through the body into the urine unchanged. The concentration of cyanuric acid in a 24 hour urine specimen and the concentration in pool water can be used to calculate the amount of water swallowed. Our study population of 549 participants, which was about evenly divided by gender, and young and adult swimmers, indicated that swimmers ingest about 32 mL per hour (arithmetic mean) and that children swallowed about four times as much water as adults during swimming activities. It was also observed that males had a tendency to swallow more water than females during swimming activity and that children spent about twice as much time in the water than adults.
Allocating effort and anticipating pleasure in schizophrenia: Relationship with real world functioning

Abstract Background Poor motivation to engage in goal-oriented behavior has been recognized as a hallmark feature of schizophrenia spectrum disorders (SZ). Low drive in SZ may be related to anticipating rewards as well as to poor working memory. However, few studies to date have examined beliefs about self-efficacy and satisfaction for future rewards (anticipatory pleasure). Additionally, few studies to date have examined how these deficits may impact SZ patients’ real world functioning. Method The present study examined SZ patients’ ( n = 57) anticipatory pleasure, working memory, self-efficacy and real world functioning in relation to their negative symptom severity. Results Results revealed that SZ patients’ negative symptom severity was related to decisions in effort allocation and reward probability, working memory deficits, self-efficacy and anticipatory pleasure for future reward. Effort allocation deficits also predicted patients’ daily functioning skills. Conclusions SZ patients with high levels of negative symptoms are not merely effort averse, but have more difficulty effectively allocating effort and anticipating pleasure engaging in effortful activities. It may be the case that continuously failing to achieve reinforcement from engagement and participation may lead SZ patients to form certain negative beliefs about their abilities which contributes to amotivation and cognitive deficits. Lastly, our findings provide further support for a link between SZ patients functional daily living skills their effort allocation.
Low temperature behavior of the heavy fermion Ce3Co4Sn13Ce3Co4Sn13

The compound Ce3Co4Sn13Ce3Co4Sn13 is an extremely heavy cubic heavy fermion system with a low temperature electronic specific heat of order ∼4J/molK2. If the compound is nonmagnetic, it would be one of the heaviest nonmagnetic Ce-based heavy fermions reported to date and therefore would be expected to lie extremely close to a quantum critical point. However, a broad peak of unknown origin is observed at 0.8 K in the specific heat and magnetic susceptibility, suggesting the possibility of antiferromagnetic order. We present neutron diffraction data from polycrystalline samples which do not show any sign of magnetic scattering below 0.8 K. In addition, we present inelastic neutron scattering data from a single crystal sample which is consistent with the 1.2 K energy scale for Kondo spin fluctuations determined from specific heat measurements.
Discovery of an old, archipelago-wide, endemic radiation of Philippine snakes.

Abstract The extraordinarily rich land vertebrate biodiversity of the Philippines includes at least 112 species of terrestrial snakes (74% of which are endemic to the archipelago) in 41 genera (12% endemic). Endemic Philippine snake genera include Cyclocorus (two species), Hemibungarus (three species), Hologerrhum (two species), Oxyrhabdium (two species), and Myersophis (monotypic). Although Hemibungarus and Oxyrhabdium have been included in previous species-level phylogenies, the affinities of the other three Philippine endemic genera are completely unknown. We generated novel DNA sequences for six species from four genera and analyzed these in conjunction with data from earlier studies to infer a phylogeny for the group containing Colubridae, Elapoidea (Elapidae + Lamprophiidae), and Homalopsidae. We present a novel phylogenetic result that strongly supports the existence of an entirely endemic Philippine radiation of elapoid snakes that originated 35–25 million years ago. We provide a revised, phylogeny-based classification to accommodate the new clade, transfer Cyclocorus, Hologerrhum, and Myersophis to Lamprophiidae, and provide the first estimate of the evolutionary relationships among these genera and the related Oxyrhabdium, setting the stage for future investigation of this entirely endemic, novel Philippine elapoid radiation.
Unique causes of esophageal inflammation: a histopathologic perspective

Gastroenterologists frequently perform endoscopic esophageal mucosal biopsies for pathologic diagnosis in patients experiencing symptoms of esophagitis. The more common causes of esophagitis diagnosed on esophageal mucosal biopsy include reflux esophagitis, eosinophilic esophagitis, and infectious esophagitis caused by Candida albicans, herpes simplex virus, and/or cytomegalovirus. However, there are several causes of esophagitis seen less frequently by pathologists that are very important to recognize. We discuss unique types of esophageal inflammation, including acute bacterial esophagitis, esophageal manifestations of dermatologic diseases, medication-induced esophageal injury, and sloughing esophagitis; and we review their clinical and histopathologic features.
Perspective: Magnetoelectric switching in thin film multiferroic heterostructures

Since the resurgence of multiferroics research, significant advancement has been made in the theoretical and experimental investigation of the electric field control of magnetization, magnetic anisotropy, magnetic phase, magnetic domains, and Curie temperature in multiferroic heterostructures. As a result of these advances, multiferroic heterostructures are on a trajectory to impact spintronics applications through the significantly reduced energy consumption per unit area for magnetization switching (1–500 μJ cm−2) when compared to that of current-driven magnetization switching (0.2–10 mJ cm−2). Considering this potential impact, it becomes necessary to understand magnetoelectric switching dynamics and characteristic switching times. The body of experimental work investigating magnetoelectric switching dynamics is rather limited, with the majority of room temperature converse magnetoelectric switching measurements reported having employed relatively long voltage pulses. Recently, however, the field has started to consider the kinetics of the switching path in multiferroic (and ferroelectric) switching. Excitingly, the results are challenging our understanding of switching processes while offering new opportunities to engineer the magnetoelectric effect. Considering the prospects of multiferroics for beyond-CMOS applications and the possible influence on operational speed, much remains to be understood regarding magnetoelectric switching kinetics and dynamics, particularly at reduced dimensions and under the influence of boundary effects resulting from strain, electrostatics, and orientation. In this article, we review magnetoelectric switching in multiferroic heterostructures for the electric field control of magnetism. We then offer perspectives moving toward the goal of low energy-delay spintronics for computational applications.
How Not To Have an Ontology of Physical OBJECTS

Dans le cadre du debat sur la nature et la composition des objets physiques opposant le quadri-dimensionnalisme de P. van Inwagen et D. Lewis a la these de l'universalisme mereologique, l'A. souligne l'aspect non-propositionnel des phrases ontologiques qui font partie de l'ensemble d'un contexte descriptif plus large defini comme structure interpretative de la description de la realite physique. Etablissant une analogie entre celle-ci et la structure spatiale de reference, l'A. montre comment les phrases ontologiques peuvent servir de propositions pour determiner une certaine facon de parler
Energetics and Vibrational Signatures of Nucleobase Argyrophilic Interactions

This study investigates the interactions of both purine (adenine and guanine) and pyrimidine (cytosine, thymine, and uracil) nucleobases with a pair of silver atoms (Ag2). Full geometry optimizations were performed on several structures of each nucleobase/Ag2 complex and the corresponding isolated monomers using the M06-2X density functional with a correlation consistent triple-ζ basis set augmented with diffuse functions on all atoms and a relativistic pseudopotential on Ag (aug-cc-pVTZ for H, C, N, and O and aug-cc-pVTZ-PP for Ag; denoted aVTZ). Harmonic vibrational frequency computations indicate that each optimized structure corresponds to a minimum on the M06-2X/aVTZ potential energy surface. Relative electronic energies for interactions between Ag2 and each nucleobase were compared to elucidate energetic differences between isomers. Further analysis of the changes in vibrational frequencies, infrared intensities, and Raman scattering activities reveals how different Ag2 binding sites might be differentiated spectroscopically. These results provide molecular-level insight into the interactions between nucleobases and silver, which may lead to better understanding and interpretation of surface-enhanced Raman spectroscopy experiments on nucleobases and related systems.
Deciphering Molecular and Phenotypic Changes Associated with Early Autoimmune Disease in the Aire-Deficient Mouse Model of Sjögren's Syndrome.

Sjogren's syndrome (SS) is characterized by extensive lymphocytic infiltration of the salivary and lacrimal gland (LG), resulting in acinar cell destruction and organ dysfunction. The underlying pathogenesis of SS remains largely unknown, and studies historically focus on defining late-stage disease. Here, we identify tissue programs associated with disease onset using transcriptomic and immunohistological analysis of LGs from 5- and 7-week-old mice deficient in autoimmune response element (Aire). At 5 weeks of age (wk), Aire-/- mice show minimal tissue dysfunction and destruction compared to 7 wk Aire-/-, which exhibit severe dry eye, poor tear secretion, extensive lymphocytic infiltration, reduced functional innervation, and increased vascularization. Despite this mild phenotype, 5 wk Aire-/- LGs were highly enriched for signaling pathways previously associated with SS, including interferon gamma (IFNγ), interleukin 1 beta (IL1β), nuclear factor kappa-light-chain-enhancer of activated B cells (NF-κB), toll-like receptor (TLR) signaling, and interleukin-6/signal transducer and activator of transcription 3 (IL6/STAT3) signaling. Novel signaling pathways such as the semaphorin⁻plexin pathway were also noted. Intriguingly, we found an expansion of the ductal network with increasing disease. Activated STAT3, a blocker of apoptosis, was restricted to the ductal system and also increased with damage, highlighting its potential as a promoter of ductal cell survival. These data demonstrate the early activation of signaling pathways regulating inflammation, innervation, and cell survival before the onset of clinical disease indicators, suggesting their potential value as diagnostic biomarkers.
Device Free Indoor Localization Using Discriminant Features of CSI A Canonical Correlation Paradigm

With the growth of context-aware computing, Indoor localization based on Wi-Fi signals is gaining popularity due to the widespread deployment of Wi-Fi infrastructure. In this paper, we propose DisLoc, the first discriminant feature based device free indoor localization using canonical correlation analysis. The system exploits the Channel State Information (CSI), which is richer in information related to position than traditional Received Signal Strength (RSS). The DisLoc models localization as a pattern matching problem and addresses the problem of comparing sets of CSI feature matrix for indoor 10-calization, where the sets represent variations in features in terms of CSI amplitude due to the presence of a subject at a particular location. A discriminative feature extraction is proposed for pattern matching using Canonical Correlation Analysis (CCA). Specifically, the system utilizes Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Linear Discriminant Analysis (LDA) of CSIs as two features into the correlation analysis and performs an effective feature fusion by maximizing the pairwise correlations across the two feature sets. Finally a similarity measure is performed to find the best match for localization. Experimental results show that DisLoc can estimate location in a device free setting with high accuracy which outperforms other state-of-the-art approaches.
The Timing of Teacher Hires and Teacher Qualifications: Is There an Association?:

BackgroundCase studies suggest that late hiring timelines are common in large urban school districts and result in the loss of qualified teachers to surrounding suburbs. To date, however, there has...
Provable Memory-efficient Online Robust Matrix Completion

Robust Matrix Completion (RMC) is the problem of estimating a low-rank matrix in the presence of missing entries and element-wise (sparse) outliers. In this work, we study the RMC problem with the extra assumption that the clean data is generated from either a fixed or a slowly-changing low-dimensional subspace and introduce a provably correct online algorithm for solving it. Our problem can also be interpreted as that of Robust Subspace Tracking with missing data (RST-miss); with "robust" referring to robustness to sparse outliers. Our proposed method, called NORST-miss-robust, and its guarantee both rely on the Recursive Projected Compressive Sensing (ReProCS) framework introduced in our earlier work. We also argue that NORST-miss-robust enjoys near-optimal memory complexity, tracks subspace changes with near-optimal delay, and has time complexity that is order-wise equal to that of vanilla PCA. Detailed experimental comparisons showing the practical advantages of our method are also shown.
Small cell bladder cancer: should we consider prophylactic cranial irradiation?

ABSTRACT Purpose: To describe the clinical characteristics, treatment patterns, and outcomes in patients with small cell bladder cancer at our institution, including those who received prophylactic cranial irradiation (PCI) for the prevention of intracranial recurrence. Materials and Methods: Patients with small cell bladder cancer treated at a single institution between January 1990 and August 2015 were identified and analyzed retrospectively for demographics, tumor stage, treatment, and overall survival. Results: Of 44 patients diagnosed with small cell bladder cancer, 11 (25%) had metastatic disease at the time of presentation. Treatment included systemic chemotherapy (70%), radical surgery (59%), and local radiation (39%). Six patients (14%) received PCI. Median overall survival was 10 months (IQR 4 – 41). Patients with extensive disease had worse overall survival than those with organ confined disease (8 months vs. 36 months, respectively, p = 0.04). Among those who received PCI, 33% achieved 5 - year survival. Conclusion: Outcomes for patients with small cell bladder cancer remain poor. Further research is indicated to determine if PCI increases overall survival in small call bladder cancer patients, especially those with extensive disease who respond to chemotherapy.
The Impact of Direct Consumer Premiums Over Time: Repeated Measures of Purchase Intentions

The present study is part of an ongoing series of repeated-measures-experiments examining the effects of manufacturer-sponsored, direct consumer premiums (also referred to as free-gift-with-purchase premiums) in different time periods. These studies extend previous work on the short-term behavioral effects of direct consumer premiums in promotion time periods, and investigate delayed effects in postpromotion time periods. The basic issue that these studies address is: if direct consumer premiums influence subjects’ intentions to purchase promoted products in promotion time periods, do certain direct consumer premiums continue to stimulate delayed effects in postpromotion time periods?
A stochastic programming approach for electric vehicle charging station expansion plans

Abstract The projected and current adoption rates of electric vehicles are increasing. Electric vehicles need to be recharged continually over time, and the energy required to ensure that is immense and growing. Given that existing infrastructure is insufficient to supply the projected energy needs, models are necessary to help decision makers plan for how to best expand the power grid to meet this need. A successful power grid expansion is one that enables charging stations to service the electric vehicle community. Thus, plans for power expansion need to be coordinated between the power grid and charging station investors. In this paper, we present a two-stage stochastic programming approach that can be used to determine a power grid expansion plan that supports the energy needs, or load, from an uncertain set of electric vehicles geographically dispersed over a region. The first stage determines where to expand the power grid, and the second stage determines where to locate charging stations. The key link between the first and second stage decisions is that charging stations can only be located in areas with sufficient power supply enabled by an expanded power grid. To solve the model, we utilize a hybrid approach that combines Sample Average Approximation and an enhanced Progressive Hedging algorithm. We enhance the Progressive hedging algorithm by applying rolling horizon and variable fixing techniques. To validate the proposed model and gain key insights, we perform computational experiments using realistic data representing the Washington, DC area. Our computational results indicate the robustness of the proposed algorithm while providing a number of managerial insights to the decision makers.
Kinetic Modeling of Alcohol Oligomerization over Calcium Hydroxyapatite

Guerbet coupling to oligomerize ethanol to heavy alcohols over a hydroxyapatite (HAP) catalyst is explored through the development and application of a reaction kinetics model that describes coupli...
Gun Violence as an Obstacle to Educational Equality

This paper addresses the issue of school gun violence as both a result and a cause of ongoing educational inequality. First, gun violence and homicides have reached epidemic levels in recent years among minority teenagers in the United States, and the constant disruption, trauma, and fear that go along with such day to day violence significantly affect the educational and psychological development of urban youth, and thus their eventual educational and career achievements. Second, media attention and recent legislative initiatives to permit or require guns in schools (arming teachers, etc.) focus on the comparatively rare phenomenon of active shooter scenarios (school massacres or shooting rampages), which are predominantly a suburban phenomenon, while ignoring the causes and effects of routine, lower-fatality gun incidents in poorer urban schools. Measures designed to prevent, or thwart, suburban mass shootings may in fact have deleterious effects in inner-city schools that face daily issues with gangs, gun carrying, and outbreaks of interpersonal violence. This paper will suggest that comprehensive community solutions to reduce gun violence are inseparable from policies promoting educational equality, as decreased gun violence boosts educational achievement and helps the school environment, and at the same time, improvements in educational equality can help further reduce gun violence in the community - the two are intertwined. In addition, this paper offers some bold suggestions regarding, increased age restrictions for the purchase of guns and ammunition, training of school guidance counselors regarding firearm access by minors, and reduced presence of armed security and other school personnel within the school.
Drug-Loaded Microbeads Sandwiched Between Nanofiber Layers for Extended Linear Release

Fabrication of a triple-layered membrane consisting of a dexamethasone (DX)-loaded polycaprolactone (PCL) microbead layer sandwiched between two PCL nanofiber layers is demonstrated for highly extended linear drug release with low initial burst. Dual syringe sequential electrospinning is used to produce the triple layers. A linear drug release of over 80 days and a significantly reduced initial burst of less than 30% is reported. With the dual syringe electrospinning system, more degrees of freedom in the fabrication of a membrane with a customizable release profile can be realized.
Open-Ocean Minima in δ13C Values of Particulate Organic Carbon in the Lower Euphotic Zone

Extensive studies in the 1980s-1990s led to the characterization of latitudinal variations in sea surface δ13C values of particulate organic carbon (δ13CPOC), and relationships were found with CO2 concentrations, temperature, growth rates, and cell geometries. Surprisingly, no large-scale efforts have been made to describe variations in δ13CPOC values over depth in the water column. Here we compile published examples demonstrating a widespread isotopic pattern in particulate organic carbon of the upper water column. In 51 vertical profiles, δ13CPOC values in the lower euphotic zone on average are 1.4‰ lower than δ13CPOC values in the upper euphotic zone of open ocean settings. In a majority of locations this downward decrease in δ13CPOC values is > 2‰ and up to 5‰, larger than the commonly recognized vertical δ13C variation in dissolved inorganic carbon over the same depths. We briefly review hypotheses and supporting evidence offered by previous studies of individual water columns: The observed patterns could result from vertical differences in photosynthetic growth rates or community composition, biochemical composition of organic matter due to degradation, isotopic disequilibrium within the dissolved inorganic carbon pool, particle dynamics, or seasonal vertical mixing. Coordinated isotopic, biological, and seawater chemistry data are sparse, and consistent drivers of this widespread isotopic pattern are currently elusive. Further work is needed to adequately characterize the environmental conditions coinciding with this pattern, to test its origins, and to determine if the magnitude of upper water column δ13CPOC variations could be a useful marker of upper ocean carbon cycle dynamics.
Developmental and Psychosocial Challenges for Self-Management and Maintaining Adherence to Chronic Therapies

Transition from pediatric to adult healthcare for adolescents and young adults with chronic lung disease can be challenging. Individuals must develop illness self-management skills, including obtaining appropriate knowledge and the ability to independently engage in self-care behaviors. Various individual factors can facilitate or impede this process. Specifically, developmental and psychosocial variables play an important role. Understanding the role of these factors in the transition to adult care, and developing best practices to address them, is critical to helping individuals with chronic lung disease, and their families, successfully navigate transition in care.
Ni-NTA Affinity Chromatography to Characterize Protein–Protein Interactions During Fe-S Cluster Biogenesis

Affinity chromatography can be repurposed to provide useful information about the specific partner protein(s) to which a protein of interest may bind as well as the relative binding affinity of that partner protein for the protein of interest. Here, we provide a protocol for an Ni-NTA affinity chromatography assay that may be utilized to uncover insightful information about the nature of protein-protein interactions during iron-sulfur (Fe-S) cluster biogenesis reactions.
When it feels good to be bad: The effect of guilt on self-enhancement

WHEN IT FEELS GOOD TO BE BAD: THE EFFECT OF GUILT ON SELFENHANCEMENT By: Jaclyn M. Moloney, B. S. A thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2014 Director: Dr. Jeffrey D. Green, Associate Professor of Psychology The present study aimed to expand on previous research that explains when affect can influence subsequent judgments in an incongruent way. It also investigated a context where a negative emotion may have been maintained in order to achieve a subsequent goal. Participants in a guilt, shame, and control condition visualized past events. Those in the guilt and shame condition wrote about a time when they committed a moral transgression and were instructed to write an apology letter to a person they hurt. They then rated themselves on a number of interpersonal traits as a way to measure self-enhancement. I hypothesized that those in the guilt condition would self-enhance on interpersonal traits as a result of feeling guilt, which is a repair-focused emotion that has been shown to benefit interpersonal relationships. I also hypothesized that participants in the guilt condition would express a desire to maintain their feelings of guilt as a strategy to help them write an apology letter. The present findings do not support my hypotheses.
Performance of Nonlinear Vibration Absorbers for Multi-Degrees-of-Freedom Systems Using Nonlinear Normal Modes

Linear vibration absorbers are a valuable tool used to suppress vibrations due to harmonic excitation in structural systems. While limited evaluation of the performance of nonlinear vibration absorbers for nonlinear structures exists in the literature for single mode structures, none exists for multi-mode structures. Consequently, nonlinear multiple-degrees-of-freedom structures are evaluated. The theory of nonlinear normal modes is extended to include consideration of modal damping, excitation and small linear coupling, allowing estimation of vibration absorber performance. The dynamics of the N + 1-degrees-of-freedom system are shown to reduce to those of a two-degrees-of-freedom system on a four-dimensional nonlinear modal manifold, thereby simplifying the analysis. Quantitative agreement is shown to require a higher-order model which is recommended for future investigation.
Autobiography as Criticism, Criticism as Autobiography

"Okay, okay, okay, we get it: you stutter and so, irredeemably self conscious, you're devoted to yourself as a subject, also as a symbolic subject, even as some sort of featured player in a collage movie. Don't you finally want to get outside yourself? Isn't that finally what this has to be about, getting beyond the blahblahblah of your endless?" Yes, yes, a thousand times yes. Or, rather, yes and no. I want to get past myself, of course I do, but the only way I know how to do this is to ride along on my own nerve endings; the only way out is deeper in; the only portraits I'm really interested in are self-portraits as well. I'm just trying to be honest here. I'm drawn to writers who appear to have Heisenberg's Uncertainty Principle tattooed across their forehead: the perceiver by his very presence changes the nature of what's being perceived. In the Afterword to Lolita, Nabokov mentions "a newspaper story about an ape in the Jardin des Plantes which, after months of coaxing by a scientist, produced the first drawing ever charcoaled by an animal; this sketch showed the bars of the poor creature's cage." I admire Hilton Als's The Women, W.G. Sebald's The Emigrants, and VS. Naipaul's A Way in the World?books in which the chapters, considered singly, are relatively straightforwardly biographical, but read as a whole and tilted at just the right angle, refract brilliant, harsh light back upon the author. "I only know an object in so far as I know myself and my own determination through it," Hegel says, "for whatever I am is also an object of my consciousness, and I am not just this, that or the other, but only what I know myself to be. I know my object, and I know myself; the two are inseparable."
A Research Agenda for Computing and the Social Sciences

The 1996 Conference on Computing for the Social Sciences was a milestone in cooperation and in emphasis on research on the Internet. The program contributions are summarized within the structure of an agenda for future research on the social role of information technology and development of methodological tools for social science research.
The Imagined Self-Sufficient Communities of HOPE VI Examining the Community and Social Support Component

The physical redevelopment of Housing Opportunities for People Everywhere (HOPE VI) communities has been accompanied by efforts to remake the people who live in them. Through a variety of community...
Further studies on the aberrant crossed visual corticotectal pathway in rats

An aberrant crossed corticotectal pathway can be generated by removal of one visual cortex and the contralateral superior colliculus from newborn rats. This aberrant crossed corticotectal projection arises from the pyramidal neurons located in layer V of the visual cortex and terminates in a spatially orderly manner in the appropriate laminae of the cortically deafferented contralateral colliculus. Comparable results cannot be reproduced by unilateral collicular lesions alone. The significance of these findings and the possible mechanisms involved in the formation of the aberrant pathway are discussed and compared with the retinotectal system.
Managing nitrogen on the farm: the devil is in the detail

Agricultural activity is a major source of nitrate in surface and ground waters. There has been a large research effort over the last 20 years to understand nitrate leaching processes and to develop ‘best management practices’ (BMPs) that can be adopted in farming systems to reduce losses to the wider environment. This paper reviews some of the issues relating to the development, use and adoption of these BMPs in farming systems. There is significant evidence from farming systems experiments and modelling studies that combinations of BMPs can decrease nitrate losses from agricultural land, though nothing is foolproof (the weather plays a key role in determining success). The challenges are greater in some regions (dry climate, ‘leaky’ soils) and in some enterprises (intensive animal farming systems). The adoption of BMPs on farms requires attention to detail and a high level of management skill, so providing advisory support to farmers is essential. Even with the progress that has been made in recent years, there is still work to do. This includes encouraging uptake on farms and dealing with potential conflicts between BMPs when they create ‘pollution swapping’ or where there is potential for a large economic penalty for the farmer. We also suggest that there is a need for more innovation in developing BMPs and a need to recognise that, in some situations, radical changes to farming systems may be the only solution. Copyright © 2007 Society of Chemical Industry
The Effects of Two Teaching Methodologies on the Performance and Attitudes of Students in a Technical Report-Writing Course

This article discusses an attempt to match the student characteristics in sections of technical report writing in a community college setting so as to determine if different teaching methodologies affected performance and/or attitudes. As many similarities as possible in the general characteristics of age, background field of study, and initial attitude towards the course were sought in order to measure the effect of a variance in presentation of material. The first class was taught by the traditional lecture technique; the second, by individual consultation.
The prediction of sequences

The problem of predicting the short-term future behavior of a sequence, after observing it as long as we please, so as to achieve a specified reliability against all possible sequences is considered. For a particular problem, namely, predicting when in a sequence of 0's and 1's the pair (1, 0) in that order is not coming next, a reliability of 3/4 can be approximated as closely as we please, but not achieved.
Optional Introns in Mitochondrial DNA ofPodospora anserinaAre the Primary Source of Observed Size Polymorphisms

Abstract The significant differences in mitochondrial genome size among seven races (B, E, M, T, U, W, and Y) of Podospora anserina have been found to be primarily due to the presence and/or absence of introns, including four introns not previously known to be optional. Information from physical mapping of races M and T, and sequence data from races A and s, was used to identify regions likely to contain insertions or deletions, which were then characterized using PCR and sequence analysis. Newly confirmed optional introns are the first intron of the large ribosomal RNA (LSUr1), the single intron of NADH dehydrogenase subunit 3 (ND3i1), the single intron in ATPase subunit 6 (ATPase6), and the fifth intron of cytochrome oxidase subunit I (COIi5). We have also found that race M exists in two forms as determined by mitochondrial DNA. These results bring to nine (including races A and s) the number of races characterized by mitochondrial intron content with a total of six known optional introns and one optional insertion. Eight of the nine races contain a distinct set of introns, providing a more reliable means for identification and comparison. The identification of optional mitochondrial introns in P. anserina may have evolutionary implications regarding the transfer and/or mobility of these introns.
Functional role, mechanisms of regulation, and therapeutic potential of regulator of G protein signaling 2 in the heart

G protein-mediated signal transduction is essential for the regulation of cardiovascular function, including heart rate, growth, contraction, and vascular tone. Regulators of G protein Signaling (RGS proteins) fine-tune G protein-coupled receptor-induced signaling by regulating its magnitude and duration through direct interaction with the α subunits of heterotrimeric G proteins. Changes in the RGS protein expression and/or function in the heart often lead to pathophysiological changes and are associated with cardiac disease in animals and humans, including hypertrophy, fibrosis development, heart failure, and arrhythmias. This article focuses on Regulator of G protein Signaling 2 (RGS2), which is widely expressed in many tissues and is highly regulated in its expression and function. Most information to date has been obtained in biochemical, cellular, and animal studies, but data from humans is emerging. We review recent advances on the functional role of cardiovascular RGS2 and the mechanisms that determine its signaling selectivity, expression, and functionality. We highlight key unanswered questions and discuss the potential of RGS2 as a therapeutic target.
Single-Family Home Construction Site Theft: A Crime Prevention Case Study

The United States and other countries around the world, such as Canada, Australia, England, and Japan, have begun to address single-family home construction site crime through a variety of crime prevention methods. This article presents the results of a practical problem-oriented policing effort to reduce single-family home construction site theft in a suburban city in Florida. The Port St. Lucie, FL Police Department utilized a variety of data sources to understand the problem and tailored crime prevention responses to achieve a successful reduction in construction site theft over a 2-year period. Consequently, this article details the background of the project, the analysis, the crime prevention strategies implemented, and the impact results of the strategies.
Training of a neural network for pattern classification based on an entropy measure

A neural net model for pattern classification is introduced. Unlike models in which the network topology is specified before training, in this model the network expands during training. The proposed model introduces a novel type of unit (neuron) and a standard treelike feedforward network topology. The simplicity of the interconnection pattern is a particular advantage over existing models. Internal representations are formed by separating hyperplanes. Selection of the hyperplanes and expansion of the network is based on an entropy measure which is appropriately defined. The weight vectors of all units with a certain layer are determined in a single presentation of the training set. >
Synthesis of a nucleoside hapten with a [P(O)-O-N] linkage to elicit catalytic antibodies with phosphodiesterase activity

Abstract The nucleoside analogue 1 incorporating a [P(O)-O-N] linkage was synthesized as a hapten to obtain catalytic antibodies that may cleave a phosphodiester bond. Secondary alcohol 15 was successfully phosphorylated with the phosphodiester derived from hydroxylamine derivative 7b to give a protected form of the hapten. Deprotection was accomplished using Pd-catalyzed deallylation that afforded hapten 1 after HPLC purification.
Spatially discordant voltage alternans cause wavebreaks in ventricular fibrillation.

Background Ventricular fibrillation (VF) is characterized by complex ECG patterns emanating from multiple, short-lived, reentrant electrical waves. The incessant breakup and creation of new daughter waves (wavebreaks) perpetuate VF. Dispersion of refractoriness (static or dynamic) has been implicated as a mechanism underlying wavebreaks. Objective The purpose of this study was to investigate the mechanisms underlying wavefront instability in VF by localizing wave fractionation sites (the appearance of multiple waves) and their relationship to local spatial dispersion of voltage (V m ) oscillations. Methods Wave fractionations were identified by tracking V m oscillations optically at unprecedented spatial (100 × 100 pixels) and temporal (2,000 frames per second) resolution using a CMOS camera viewing the surface (1 × 1 cm 2 ) of perfused guinea pig hearts (n = 6). VF was induced by burst stimulation, and wavefront dynamics were highlighted using region-based image analysis to automatically detect wavebreaks. Direct detection of wavebreak locations by image analysis was more reliable than the phase reconstruction method because baseline noise obstructed the correct identification of phase singularities by detecting false-positives. Results Wave fractionations (34 ± 4 splits/s·cm 2 ) fell into three categories: decremental conduction (49% ± 7%), wave collisions (32% ± 8%), and wavebreaks (17 ± 2%). Wavebreaks occurred at a frequency of 5.8 ± 1 splits/s·cm 2 and did not preferentially occur at anatomic obstacles (i.e., coronary vessels) but coincided with discordant alternans where V m amplitudes and durations shifted from high to low to from low to high on opposite sides of wavebreak sites. Conclusion Spatial discordant alternans cause wavebreaks most likely because they are sites of abrupt dispersion of refractoriness.