cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Stories as Cultural Creativity: On the Relation Between Symbolism and Politics in Organizational Change

The organization theory literature on stories concentrates on the role stories play in political processes, especially the representative and integrative aspects. In this essay, I will build on this literature by introducing Victor Turner's work on cultural change. Stories will be seen as not only representing and integrating political process, but also creating them. By focusing on the creative aspect of stories, their role in organizational change is highlighted. This framework is applied to stories about a change of leadership in an electronics company. Two conclusions emerge. First, stories are a form of cultural creativity that can be used to mediate conflicts and contradictions that arise from changing circumstances. Second, stories, despite the fact that they are a form of cultural change, can have a negative influence on the process of organizational change.
Electrode configuration influence on resistivity measurements about a spherical anomaly

The trade-offs involved with subsurface resistivity probing are studied for the case of a spherical anomaly. In particular, two-, three-, and four-electrode configurations are investigated. The three- and four-electrode configurations have similar results and have significantly better remote detection capabilities than does a two-electrode configuration. Cross-borehole probing is capable of detecting anomalous conditions at a greater range than is single-borehole probing.
Low resistance Ti/Al/Au ohmic backside contacts to nonpolar m-plane n-GaN

An effective surface treatment method has been developed to realise low resistance ohmic contacts on the lapped backsides of m-plane n-GaN substrates with a moderate doping level of 5.5×10 17 cm -3 . Ti/Al/Au contacts with fine polishing and an ICP treatment followed by annealing at 700°C for 5 min yielded a specific contact resistance as low as 3.9×10 -5 ?cm 2 . The same low specific contact resistance was also achieved by annealing at 500°C for 5 min on a relatively rough surface. The effective removal of the lapping damage by ICP treatment and the creation of nitrogen vacancies during annealing are believed to improve the contacts.
Growth of Er Doped si Films by Electron Cyclotron Resonance Plasma Enhanced Chemical Vapor Deposition

Thin Si films doped with Er have been grown at low temperature by plasma enhanced chemical vapor deposition. The Er gas source is a sublimed organo-metallic compound fed into the process chamber. High doping concentrations without precipitation are possible because of the low deposition temperatures. The process relies on the beneficial effects of low energy ion bombardment to reduce the growth temperature. The ions as well as reactive chemical species are produced by an electron cyclotron resonance (ECR) plasma stream source. A hydrogen plasma stream is used to perform an in-situ pre-deposition clean to remove oxide from the Si surface. Film crystallinity and impurity concentration are determined by Rutherford backscattering spectrometry.
Arginase Promotes Skeletal Muscle Arteriolar Endothelial Dysfunction in Diabetic Rats

Endothelial dysfunction is a characteristic feature in diabetes that contributes to the development of vascular disease. Recently, arginase has been implicated in triggering endothelial dysfunction in diabetic patients and animals by competing with endothelial nitric oxide synthase for substrate L-arginine. While most studies have focused on the coronary circulation and large conduit blood vessels, the role of arginase in mediating diabetic endothelial dysfunction in other vascular beds has not been fully investigated. In the present study, we determined whether arginase contributes to endothelial dysfunction in skeletal muscle arterioles of diabetic rats. Diabetes was induced in male Sprague Dawley rats by streptozotocin injection. Four weeks after streptozotocin administration, blood glucose, glycated hemoglobin, and vascular arginase activity were significantly increased. In addition, a significant increase in arginase I and II mRNA expression was detected in gracilis muscle arterioles of diabetic rats compared to age-matched, vehicle control animals. To examine endothelial function, first-order gracilis muscle arterioles were isolated, cannulated in a pressure myograph system, exposed to graded levels of luminal flow, and internal vessel diameter measured. Increases in luminal flow (0-50µL/min) caused progressive vasodilation in arterioles isolated from control, normoglycemic animals. However, flow-induced vasodilation was absent in arterioles obtained from streptozotocin-treated rats. Acute in-vitro pretreatment of blood vessels with the arginase inhibitors Nω-hydroxy-nor-L-arginine or S-(2-boronoethyl)-L-cysteine restored flow-induced responses in arterioles from diabetic rats and abolished differences between diabetic and control animals. Similarly, acute in-vitro pretreatment with L-arginine returned flow-mediated vasodilation in vessels from diabetic animals to that of control rats. In contrast, D-arginine failed to restore flow-induced dilation in arterio
Gateway Role for rRNA Precursors in Ribosome Assembly

In Escherichia coli, rRNAs are initially transcribed with precursor sequences, which are subsequently removed through processing reactions. To investigate the role of precursor sequences, we analyzed ribosome assembly in strains containing mutations in the processing RNases. We observed that defects in 23S rRNA processing resulted in an accumulation of ribosomal subunits and caused a significant delay in ribosome assembly. These observations suggest that precursor residues in 23S rRNA control ribosome assembly and could be serving a regulatory role to couple ribosome assembly to rRNA processing. The possible mechanisms through which rRNA processing and ribosome assembly could be linked are discussed.
Formative assessment of a computer-aided analysis center: plan development and preliminary results

Mercer University School of Engineering received a grant to establish a computer-aided analysis center to enhance the undergraduate experience. Through learning modules selectively embedded into engineering courses, students are introduced to advanced computational techniques and analysis skills while they are learning engineering fundamentals. Establishing a routine use of the center and assessing its success and impact constitutes a three-year project beginning fall 2003. There are several critical objectives associated with this project including: a) the improvement of pedagogy and student learning, b) the enhancement of engineering analysis skills and abilities, c) the quantification of faculty workload, and d) the motivation of student efforts. Assessment plans consist of a project-level and learning module-level investigation. This paper discusses the project-level assessment plan, assessment instruments, and the preliminary results of one-semester of implementation. The assessment instruments of the current phase include student and faculty surveys, and center-usage monitoring.
Suicidal Behavior in Adolescent Psychiatric Inpatients

Abstract Factors associated with suicidal behavior were evaluated during an analysis of the records of 200 consecutively admitted adolescent psychiatric inpatients. Interrater reliability was established for the rated categories of analysis, and a uniform format was used for the standardization and recording of data. Suicidal attempts occurred in 34% of inpatients. DSM-III diagnoses positively associated with suicidal behavior were major depressive and alcohol abuse disorders. Significant predictors of suicidal behavior were alcohol abuse, past suicidal behavior, depression, and aggressive behavior. Some differences between male and female patients were found.
Diagnosis of Canine Hyperadrenocorticism

Diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism can be challenging. Many clinical signs and abnormal clinicopathologic test results seen with hyperadrenocorticism also are seen with other endocrine and nonendocrine disorders. Nonadrenal diseases should be treated before testing for hyperadrenocorticism, because screening tests for hyperadrenocorticism are often false-positive in dogs with nonadrenal diseases. A final diagnosis requires patience and cooperation between veterinarians and owners as the various stages of testing are carried out.
Thermal diffusivity measurement using the mode-mismatched photothermal lens method

We report on a mode-mismatched pump-probe photothermal lens experiment aimed at determination of the thermal diffusivity coefficient of optical samples. In the scheme, the probe beam is collimated and the pump beam is focused. Using a Fresnel diffraction approximation, we show that under these conditions the time dependence of the signal does not depend on the Rayleigh parameters and waist positions of the light beams. This fact allows a more simple and reliable calibration of the experiment in comparison to other schemes. We conduct studies on liquid and solid samples that confirm the predictions of the model. Using the proposed method, we measure the thermal diffusivity coefficient of distilled water, ethanol, methanol, chloroform, nitrobenzene, ethylene glycol, and a solid piece of acrylic plastic. The results are in good agreement with previous measurements.
Clinical pharmacology of nonsteroidal anti‐inflammatory drugs in dogs

Abstract Objectives To discuss the clinical pharmacology of currently licensed veterinary NSAIDs and to review gastrointestinal and renal adverse effects as well as drug-drug interactions that have been reported with these drugs. To review the use of NSAIDs in the peri-operative setting and their use in patients with osteoarthritis. To further review the reported effects of NSAIDs on canine articular cartilage and liver as well as the clinical relevance of a washout period. Databases used PubMed, CAB abstracts and Google Scholar using dog, dogs, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs and NSAID(s) as keywords. Conclusions A good understanding of the mechanisms by which NSAIDs elicit their analgesic effect is essential in order to minimize adverse effects and drug-drug interactions. Cyclooxygenase (COX) is present in at least two active isoforms in the body and is the primary pharmacologic target of NSAIDs. Inhibition of COX is associated with the analgesic effects of NSAIDs. COX is present in the gastrointestinal tract and kidneys, along with other areas of the body, and is also the likely reason for many adverse effects including gastrointestinal and renal adverse effects. The newer veterinary approved NSAIDs have a lower frequency of gastrointestinal adverse effects in dogs compared to drugs such as aspirin, ketoprofen and flunixin, which may be due to differential effects on the COX isoforms. There are currently no published reports demonstrating that the newer NSAIDs are associated with fewer renal or hepatic adverse effects in dogs. NSAIDs remain the cornerstone of oral therapy for osteoarthritis unless contraindicated by intolerance, concurrent therapies or underlying medical conditions. NSAIDs are also effective and frequently used for the management of post-operative pain.
Applying simulation to the development of spacecraft flight software

We describe how the application of simulation and emulation to the lifecycle of spacecraft software can improve quality and aid in schedule compression and cost reduction. We define various forms of simulation and emulation, describe their various uses over the software development lifecycle, outline our experiences with regards to what can go wrong and right, and discuss how one might insert the technology into a project lifecycle.
MR siting: improving efficiency and safety.

The installation of an MR scanner often primarily involves aspects required to make the scanner function properly and consistently acquire high-quality, artifact-free images. Although this is of critical importance, additional and equally careful planning needs to focus on designing an environment that achieves optimal imaging efficiency and patient safety. A previous article published in this journal [1] discussed several issues related to MR site planning, including the formation of a site-planning team, radiofrequency (RF) shielding, acoustic noise, building vibration, and the 4-zone concept of MR safety. In this article, we focus on additional issues related to efficiency and safety, with discussions of surrounding areas and the layout of the department, design of the scan room, magnetic shielding, and MR safety–related issues.
No one has ever drowned in sweat

expressing his belief that hard work is needed to achieve success. Many older surgeons echo the coach’s sentiments with regards to surgical training. But do today’s medical students intending a career in surgery feel the same way? Since the inception of resident duty hour limits and its application to medical students through the Liaison Committee on Medical Education, surgeons have engaged in an ongoing debate if those entering and exiting surgical residency are as dedicated as generations past. Albeit biased, it is human nature to think that the younger generation is not as hard working as the older generation recalls. The millennial medical student starts the surgery clerkshipwithadifferentsetofdemands,expectations,andvalues than that of learners in years past. The millennial learner prefers active learning methods over lectures, does not value information for information’s sake, requires relevance, obliges rationale for complying, and prefers a less formal learning environment with ample contact with their educators. 2 The learner has changed and so has the environment.
Effective random testing of concurrent programs

Multithreaded concurrent programs often exhibit wrong behaviors due to unintended interferences among the concurrent threads. Such errors are often hard to find because they typically manifest under very specific thread schedules. Traditional testing, which pays no attention to thread schedules and non-deterministically exercises a few arbitrary schedules, often misses such bugs. Traditional model checking techniques, which try to systematically explore all thread schedules, give very high confidence in the correctness of the system, but, unfortunately, they suffer from the state explosion problem. Recently, dynamic partial order techniques have been proposed to alleviate the problem. However, such techniques fail for large programs because the state space remains large in spite of reduction. An inexpensive and a simple alternative approach is to perform random testing by choosing thread schedules at random. We show that such a naive approach often explores some states with very high probability compared to the others. We propose a random partial order sampling algorithm (or RAPOS) that partly removes this non-uniformity in sampling the state space. We empirically compare the proposed algorithm with the simple random testing algorithm and show that the former outperforms the latter
Reversal of the Burden of Proof in Fisheries Management

In his research commentary, Dayton argues that decisions in fisheries management should follow the model of the U.S. Nuclear Regulatory Commission or the Food and Drug Administration in which the commercial enterprise must prove that their activity or product does no harm before it can be approved. At present, fishing activities cannot be curtailed until it can be proven that they are already damaging existing ecosystems (see report and news story in this issue).
Integrated Pest Management for Dasineura oxycoccana (Diptera: Cecidomyiidae) in Blueberry

Abstract The ecology and control for the little-understood, blueberry bud-infesting gall midge Dasineura oxycoccana (Johnson) was studied to help reduce an estimated 20–80% blueberry crop loss due to this insect in the southern United States. Principal natural enemies were eulophid wasps, 85% of which were Aprostocetus (Perkins). Overall parasitism rate was 7% in the field, at times peaking around 34%. A 75% decline in the abundance of larval D. oxycoccana coincided with parasitoid activity between April to September. Larval Toxomerus geminatus (Say) Metz (Syrphidae) were early-season predators of immature D. oxycoccana. Prey handling took 3–10 min, with each predator eating approximately seven gall midge larvae in a 16-h period. Prebloom applications of malathion would be effective larvicides against D. oxycoccana, inducing 94% mortality in 24 h. A microbial-based alternative to malathion, spinosad, induced average mortality of 46% in 24 h. Spinosad was as effective as phosmet (50% mortality in 24 h) for...
Lo irracional en la literatura hispanoamericana del siglo XX

Las obras literarias de algunos escritores hispanoamericanos del siglo XX amenudo hacen referencia a sucesos irracionales. Hay eventos sobrenaturalesy son considerados imposibles dentro de la realidad. Predominan en novelas yrelatos que estan dentro del realismo magico. En estas obras abundan aparicionesde fantasmas, levitaciones o realidades multiples que existen simultaneamente.Este ensayo se concentrara en una vision de lo irracional en la literaturahispanoamericana del siglo XX, con enfasis en las escrituras que florecieronentre 1940 y 1990.
Predicting the Effects of Silvicultural Regime on Branch Size and Crown Wood Core in Douglas-Fir

Three major determinants of wood quality in Douglas-fir (Psemtotsga menziesii (Mirb.) Franco) were estimated from the dynamics of crown structure in ORGANON, an indi- vidual-tree, distance-independent growth model. Branch whorl locations were estimated directly from the height growth predictions assuming formation of one whorl per year. Mean maximum branch diameter was predicted as crown base receded past each whorl; branch diameter estimates were based on current depth of the whorl into crown, tree diameter, stand rehfive density, and site index. Diameter of crown wood core was established as diameter inside bark, likewise at time of crown recession past each branch whorl. This approach facilitated description of harvested log distribution (40-ft butt logs) by various branch size, whorl frequency, and crown wood core indices. Based on pro- jections of a 9-yr-old Doughs-fir stand to final harvest at 65 years, thinning precommer- dally to 121 trees/ac at age 9 resulted in a BD4 (mean of four largest branch diameters per log) of 2.5 in., rs. 1.5 in. for the unthinned stand (484 trees/ac). When thinned to 121 trees/ac, approximately 55% of the volume/ac in 40-ft butt logs consisted of crown wood as opposed to 30% at 484 trees/ac. Responses to subsequent thinnings were less pro- nounced, but included larger branches in the largest 80 trees/ac, and larger total crown wood percentages for a given initial stand density. Thinning from below resulted in larger average BD4's and slightly greater crown wood percentages than proportional thinning. Individual-tree growth models that contain a crown recession component can easily be modified to predict crown wood core and indices of branch size. Foe SCL 37(5):1409- 1428.
Amidase Activity of AmiC Controls Cell Separation and Stem Peptide Release and Is Enhanced by NlpD in Neisseria gonorrhoeae

The human-restricted pathogen Neisseria gonorrhoeae encodes a single N-acetylmuramyl-l-alanine amidase involved in cell separation (AmiC), as compared with three largely redundant cell separation amidases found in Escherichia coli (AmiA, AmiB, and AmiC). Deletion of amiC from N. gonorrhoeae results in severely impaired cell separation and altered peptidoglycan (PG) fragment release, but little else is known about how AmiC functions in gonococci. Here, we demonstrated that gonococcal AmiC can act on macromolecular PG to liberate cross-linked and non-cross-linked peptides indicative of amidase activity, and we provided the first evidence that a cell separation amidase can utilize a small synthetic PG fragment as substrate (GlcNAc-MurNAc(pentapeptide)-GlcNAc-MurNAc(pentapeptide)). An investigation of two residues in the active site of AmiC revealed that Glu-229 is critical for both normal cell separation and the release of PG fragments by gonococci during growth. In contrast, Gln-316 has an autoinhibitory role, and its mutation to lysine resulted in an AmiC with increased enzymatic activity on macromolecular PG and on the synthetic PG derivative. Curiously, the same Q316K mutation that increased AmiC activity also resulted in cell separation and PG fragment release defects, indicating that activation state is not the only factor determining normal AmiC activity. In addition to displaying high basal activity on PG, gonococcal AmiC can utilize metal ions other than the zinc cofactor typically used by cell separation amidases, potentially protecting its ability to function in zinc-limiting environments. Thus gonococcal AmiC has distinct differences from related enzymes, and these studies revealed parameters for how AmiC functions in cell separation and PG fragment release.
Biology, Culture, and the Origins of Pet-Keeping

Attachments between non-human animals of different species are surprisingly common in situations involving human agency (e.g., homes, zoos, and wildlife parks). However, cross-species animal friendships analogous to pet-keeping by humans are at least rare and possibly non-existent in nature. Why has pet-keeping evolved only in Homo sapiens? I review theories that explain pet-keeping either as an adaptation or an evolutionary by-product. I suggest that these explanations cannot account for the wide variation in the distribution and forms of pet-keeping across human societies and over historical time. Using fluctuations in the popularity of dog breeds in the United States, I show how shifts in choices of pets follow the rapid changes in preferences that characterize fashion cycles. I argue that while humans possess some innate traits that facilitate attachment to members of other species (e.g., parental urges, attraction to creatures with infantile features), pet-keeping is largely a product of social learning and imitation-based cultural evolution.
Multi-point Aero-Structural Optimization of Wings Including Planform Variations

This paper focuses on wing optimization via control theory using a multi-point design method. Based on the design methodology previously developed for wing section and planform optimization at a specific flight condition, it searches for a single wing shape that performs well over a range of flight conditions. Our previous experience with multipoint design without a detailed FE structural model, showed improvements in performance measures such as drag divergence Mach number and the lift-to-drag ratio over a range of Mach numbers. In the current work, the flow solution is modified to allow for shape deformation under load. We achieve this by coupling SYN107 to FEAP (Robert Taylor, University of California at Berkeley). The resulting aero-elastic simulation is then used to determine the optimal airfoil section and wing planform definition. In the multi-point design the actual shape will now be dierent at the dierent design points. With the coupled aero-structural analysis we hope to determine the best jig shape for the multipoint design.
Adjuvant therapy for early stage breast cancer (EBC): Distant disease-free survival (DDFS) as a predictor of overall survival (OS)

583 Background: OS advantages are often difficult to demonstrate in trials evaluating treatment for EBC, as this requires long follow-up (FU) and large trials. Results are also confounded by factors such as further treatment. DFS, the primary endpoint in many adjuvant trials, is not a consistent predictor of OS and lack of standard definitions renders its interpretation difficult. A better, quicker endpoint is needed as a surrogate for OS. Distant metastases (DM), the most common type of recurrence, are responsible for the initial peak of relapse seen at 2 years post surgery and are associated with the highest risk of death compared to locoregional and contralateral events. DDFS may be a better short-term OS predictor. Methods: The impact of common adjuvant therapies (chemotherapy [CT], tamoxifen [TAM], and aromatase inhibitors [AIs]) on DM risk and OS was examined. Results: CT trials show that improvements in DDFS often precede subsequent improvements in OS. In NSABP B14, TAM significantly improved DDFS ...
Epidemiological Analysis of Leprosy in Xinyang City,Henan Province During 1957-2007

Objective To understand leprosy epidemiological characteristics in Xinyang City from 1957-2007. Method Leprosy registration data in Xinyang City from 1957 to 2007 were analyzed retrospectively. Result The prevalence rate from 0.012‰ in 1960 dropped to 0.001 3‰ in 2007. In past five years,the average incidence rate was 0.033/105. The newly infected person decreased,the early detection rate increased and the deformity and maim rate revealed decending trend. Conclusion In the past five years,the average incidence rate was lower than 0.5/105 showing that the leprosp has been bacically controtted in Xingyang City.
Growth, carcass characteristics, and lipid composition of adipose tissue and muscle of pigs fed canola

Sixty-one finishing pigs (53.4 kg) were fed a control diet (containing soybean meal) or diets containing 20% intact canola (IC) or 20% ground canola (GC) for 8 wk. Diets were not isocaloric. Daily gain and feed efficiency were not affected by dietary treatment, but pigs fed GC ate less than pigs fed either IC or the control diet. Carcass measurements, obtained on 43 of the pigs, were not affected by diet. For 27 pigs, fatty acid composition of perirenal adipose tissue (PRF), subcutaneous adipose tissue (SCF), and longissimus muscle (LDM) was analyzed. Nine pigs (three per treatment) were randomly selected for fatty acid composition analysis of intramuscular adipose tissue (IMF) and for cholesterol analysis of several tissues. Pigs fed canola had greater (P less than .05) proportions of mono- and polyunsaturated fatty acids and less (P less than .05) saturated fatty acids in PRF and SCF. The differences were more pronounced for PRF than for SCF. In the LDM, pigs fed canola tended to have elevated levels of unsaturated fatty acids at the expense of the saturated fatty acids, but this effect was significant for linolenic acid only. The fatty acid composition of IMF was not affected by diet (P greater than .05). Diet did not alter the cholesterol content of the tissues, but cholesterol in IMF was higher (P less than .05) than in PRF, SCF, and LDM. In conclusion, 20% IC or GC did not alter growth performance or carcass characteristics of pigs. Feeding of canola increased the degree of unsaturation of PRF and SCF, but it had less effect on IMF and LDM.
Can a single, early quantitative human chorionic gonadotropin measurement in an in vitro fertilization-gamete intrafallopian transfer program predict pregnancy outcome?

Study Objective To assess the predictive value of a single serum human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) measurement obtained on day 14, 15, or 16 after transfer in in vitro fertilization or gamete intrafallopian transfer pregnancies. Design Retrospective. Setting Assisted reproductive technology (ART) programs. Patients One hundred thirty-four consecutive pregnancies from two ART programs were reviewed. Results The incidence of livebirth was only 6% when day 14 to 16 hCG values were 100mIU/mL ( P 100mIU/mL was ectopic, and this case was a bilateral (double) ectopic. Conclusions A single serum hCG measurement obtained 14 to 16 days after embryo or gamete transfer not only is diagnostic but also has good predictive value for pregnancy outcome.
Improving Sensitivity to Patients from Other Cultures

In this scenario, the physician is facing several challenges: making a patient from another culture feel at ease; managing a female patient's discomfort with a male physician; and recognizing the patient's chief concern. Physicians often treat patients from cultures different from their own.
Methods for the Use of Poliovirus Vectors for Gene Delivery

Poliovirus is a member of the Picornaviridae family of viruses. Characteristic of all members of this family, the poliovirus genome consrsis of approx 7500 bp of RNA of the plus sense polarity (1,2). Poliovirus is undoubtedly one of the most thoroughly characterized animal viruses. The three-dimensional structure of the entire virion is known (3), an infectious cDNA clone of the poliovirus genome has been generated (4,5), the entire nucleic acid sequence of poliovirus has been determined (1), and the cellular receptor that pohovirus uses to enter cells has been cloned and sequenced (6). The availability of a transgenic mouse expressing the poliovirus receptor has facilitated further description of the pathogenesis of poliovirus (7,8).
Powering the internet of things

This article consists of a collection of slides from the author's conference presentation on power resources for the Internet of things (IoT0. Some of the specific topics discussed include: advances in circuit design techniques and architectures; energy harvesting sources; optimized energy processing circuits; holistic optimization; and new sources of energy to build more powerfule IoT systems.
Power and Multistakeholderism: The ICANN Experiment

Functioning under the political oversight of the US government, the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) is considered today as one of the most powerful private corporations in the world. It is an agreed-upon thesis in the literature on ICANN that the corporation derives its potential power from a combination of technical and political factors1 (see Mueller, 2002; Friedlander and Cooper, 2000; Froomkin, 2000; Kleinwachter, 2000; Weinberg, 2000; Holitscher, 1999; Post, 1999a, b). First, ICANN was delegated policymaking authority over the single-root Internet Domain Name System (DNS), which translated into the right to decide how many and which top-level domains would be authorized, and who would benefit from the intense user demand for registration services in the most lucrative top-level domains. And, second, ICANN enjoys the unfading US Department of Commerce’s (DoC) support, which culminated, in the context of the World Summit on the Information Society (WSIS) debate (2003 - 2005), in sustaining the US unilateral control over ICANN2. This paper focuses on the rationalities and practices of policy-making for the Internet DNS as they emerged in the late 1990s and up to 2002, when ICANN was reformed. In this sense, it is an exercise in unraveling “the history of the present” (Michel Foucault).
The Study of Organic Reactions on the Surface of Magnetic Pigments by X-Ray Photoelectron Spectroscopy (ESCA)

The study of organic reactions on the surface of pigments submicrometer in size requires more sophisticated methods of analysis of the XPS spectra since curve tracing, Fourier transform deconvolution, etc. are inadequate to obtain meaningful results. An APL program that uses a modified Van Cittert algorithm was developed to deconvolute the x-ray source component of the XPS spectra.
ARGOS8 variants generated by CRISPR‐Cas9 improve maize grain yield under field drought stress conditions

Maize ARGOS8 is a negative regulator of ethylene responses. A previous study has shown that transgenic plants constitutively overexpressing ARGOS8 have reduced ethylene sensitivity and improved grain yield under drought stress conditions. To explore the targeted use of ARGOS8 native expression variation in drought-tolerant breeding, a diverse set of over 400 maize inbreds was examined for ARGOS8 mRNA expression, but the expression levels in all lines were less than that created in the original ARGOS8 transgenic events. We then employed a CRISPR-Cas-enabled advanced breeding technology to generate novel variants of ARGOS8. The native maize GOS2 promoter, which confers a moderate level of constitutive expression, was inserted into the 5'-untranslated region of the native ARGOS8 gene or was used to replace the native promoter of ARGOS8. Precise genomic DNA modification at the ARGOS8 locus was verified by PCR and sequencing. The ARGOS8 variants had elevated levels of ARGOS8 transcripts relative to the native allele and these transcripts were detectable in all the tissues tested, which was the expected results using the GOS2 promoter. A field study showed that compared to the WT, the ARGOS8 variants increased grain yield by five bushels per acre under flowering stress conditions and had no yield loss under well-watered conditions. These results demonstrate the utility of the CRISPR-Cas9 system in generating novel allelic variation for breeding drought-tolerant crops.
Dynamic Models: Econometric Considerations of Time

This article was originally published in Encyclopedia of Health Economics published by Elsevier, and the copy attached is provided by Elsevier for the author’s benefit and for the benefit of the author’s institution, for noncommercial research and educational use including without limitation use in instruction at your institution, sending it to specific colleagues who you know, and providing a copy to your institution’s administrator.
An empirical method for reducing variability and complexity of myocardial perfusion quantification by dual bolus cardiac MRI.

Purpose Myocardial perfusion can be quantified using the “dual bolus” technique, which uses two separate contrast boluses to avoid signal nonlinearity in the blood pool. This technique relies on knowing the precise ratio of contrast concentrations between the two boluses. In this study, we investigated the variability found in these ratios, as well as the error it introduces, and developed a method for correction. Methods Five dogs received dual bolus myocardial perfusion MRI scans. Perfusion was calculated separately using assumed contrast dilution ratios and empirically determined contrast ratios. Perfusion was compared with reference standard fluorescent microspheres. The same technique was then applied to a cohort of six patients with no significant coronary artery stenosis by cardiac catheterization. Results Assumed contrast dilution ratios were 10:1 for all animal and patient scans. Empirically derived contrast ratios were significantly different for animal (8.51:1 ± 1.53:1, P < 0.001) and patient scans (7.32:1 ± 2.27:1, P < 0.01). Incorporating empirically derived ratios for animal scans improved correlation with microspheres from 0.84 to 0.90 (P < 0.05). Conclusion Variability in dual bolus contrast concentration ratios is an important source of experimental error, especially outside of a carefully controlled laboratory setting. Empirically deriving the correct ratio is feasible and improves the accuracy of quantitative perfusion measurements. Magn Reson Med, 2016. © 2016 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.
Renal Replacement Therapy in the Critically Ill Surgical Patient

The diagnosis of clinically significant acute kidney injury (AKI) among the critically ill surgical population occurs in approximately one in four admissions [1]. About 5 % of all patients admitted to the intensive care unit (ICU), or 1 out of every 20 admissions, require some form of renal replacement therapy (RRT) [1]. Among all critically ill patients who require RRT, the mortality has consistently been around 60 % [2]. Practically speaking, RRT refers to the clearance of excessive electrolytes, toxic solutes, and volume that accumulates in the intravascular and extravascular space in the setting of AKI. Most often, this type of therapy is delivered via a venovenous extracorporeal circuit with a blood pump that drives venous blood through an artificial “kidney” membrane. Less commonly, the peritoneal cavity could be used to exchange electrolytes and solutes in the form of peritoneal dialysis. We will focus our discussion in this chapter mainly on extracorporeal RRT with only a brief section on peritoneal dialysis.
Cardiac arrhythmia in a mouse model of sodium channel SCN8A epileptic encephalopathy

Patients with early infantile epileptic encephalopathy (EIEE) are at increased risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). De novo mutations of the sodium channel gene SCN8A, encoding the sodium channel Nav1.6, result in EIEE13 (OMIM 614558), which has a 10% risk of SUDEP. Here, we investigated the cardiac phenotype of a mouse model expressing the gain of function EIEE13 patient mutation p.Asn1768Asp in Scn8a (Nav1.6-N1768D). We tested Scn8aN1768D/+ mice for alterations in cardiac excitability. We observed prolongation of the early stages of action potential (AP) repolarization in mutant myocytes vs. controls. Scn8aN1768D/+ myocytes were hyperexcitable, with a lowered threshold for AP firing, increased incidence of delayed afterdepolarizations, increased calcium transient duration, increased incidence of diastolic calcium release, and ectopic contractility. Calcium transient duration and diastolic calcium release in the mutant myocytes were tetrodotoxin-sensitive. A selective inhibitor of reverse mode Na/Ca exchange blocked the increased incidence of diastolic calcium release in mutant cells. Scn8aN1768D/+ mice exhibited bradycardia compared with controls. This difference in heart rate dissipated after administration of norepinephrine, and there were no differences in heart rate in denervated ex vivo hearts, implicating parasympathetic hyperexcitability in the Scn8aN1768D/+ animals. When challenged with norepinephrine and caffeine to simulate a catecholaminergic surge, Scn8aN1768D/+ mice showed ventricular arrhythmias. Two of three mutant mice under continuous ECG telemetry recording experienced death, with severe bradycardia preceding asystole. Thus, in addition to central neuron hyperexcitability, Scn8aN1768D/+ mice have cardiac myoycte and parasympathetic neuron hyperexcitability. Simultaneous dysfunction in these systems may contribute to SUDEP associated with mutations of Scn8a.
Changes in End-Organ Function in Patients With Prolonged Continuous-Flow Left Ventricular Assist Device Support

Background Few studies have evaluated the long-term effects of continuous blood flow with reduced pulsatility on end-organ function. Methods Between May 2004 and December 2015, 469 patients underwent continuous-flow left ventricular assist device (LVAD) implantation at our center. Our study included 59 (13%) patients who were supported with an LVAD for a minimum of 3 years. We evaluated postoperative renal function and hepatic function at 1 and 6 months, and 1, 2, and 3 years after implantation in those 59 patients. Results The patients' mean age was 63 ± 13 years, 81% were male, 53% had an ischemic cause of heart failure, and 68% underwent LVAD implantation as destination therapy. All laboratory determinations showed significant improvements at 1 month after the procedure. Hepatic values remained in a normal range for up to 3 years, although renal function improvement was predominantly transient. One month after implantation, the mean estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR) was improved from 58.2 ± 27.9 to 77.7 ± 33.5 mL/min/1.73 m 2 . However, 46 (78%) patients showed a gradual decline in eGFR to only 1.7% above the preoperative value after 3 years ( p = 0.67 vs baseline). The risk factors for impaired renal function after long-term support were age 60 years or older, ischemic cause, and late right heart failure. Conclusions Continuous-flow LVAD improves renal and hepatic functions in patients with advanced heart failure. However, in most, the initial improvement in renal function is largely transient and returns to baseline after a prolonged support period.
Light-harvesting and energy transfer in ruthenium(II)-polypyridyl doped zirconium(IV) metal-organic frameworks: A look toward solar cell applications

Abstract Metal-organic frameworks (MOFs) as highly ordered, tunable hybrid materials for photon collection, energy transfer and photocatalytic reactions have raised great interest. Understanding the light-harvesting and exciton transport processes within well-defined 3D solid phases will result in the better design of highly efficient biomimetic chromophore arrays for artificial photosynthesis. In this review, we summarize the fundamental principles of energy transfer in the condensed phase and overview a series of studies in light-harvesting, excited state quenching and photo-excited reactivity occurring within ruthenium-polypyridyl-doped zirconium MOFs. The application of MOFs in energy conversion devices such as dye-sensitized solar cells (DSSC) is also discussed.
Mll3 and Mll4 Facilitate Enhancer RNA Synthesis and Transcription from Promoters Independently of H3K4 Monomethylation

Monomethylation of histone H3 at lysine 4 (H3K4me1) and acetylation of histone H3 at lysine 27 (H3K27ac) are correlated with transcriptionally engaged enhancer elements, but the functional impact of these modifications on enhancer activity is not well understood. Here we used CRISPR/Cas9 genome editing to separate catalytic activity-dependent and independent functions of Mll3 (Kmt2c) and Mll4 (Kmt2d, Mll2), the major enhancer H3K4 monomethyltransferases. Loss of H3K4me1 from enhancers in Mll3/4 catalytically deficient cells causes partial reduction of H3K27ac, but has surprisingly minor effects on transcription from either enhancers or promoters. In contrast, loss of Mll3/4 proteins leads to strong depletion of enhancer Pol II occupancy and eRNA synthesis, concomitant with downregulation of target genes. Interestingly, downregulated genes exhibit reduced polymerase levels in gene bodies, but not at promoters, suggestive of pause-release defects. Altogether, our results suggest that enhancer H3K4me1 provides only a minor contribution to the long-range coactivator function of Mll3/4.
Mechanisms of bile acid mediated inflammation in the liver

Bile acids are synthesized in the liver and are the major component in bile. Impaired bile flow leads to cholestasis that is characterized by elevated levels of bile acid in the liver and serum, followed by hepatocyte and biliary injury. Although the causes of cholestasis have been extensively studied, the molecular mechanisms as to how bile acids initiate liver injury remain controversial. In this chapter, we summarize recent advances in the pathogenesis of bile acid induced liver injury. These include bile acid signaling pathways in hepatocytes as well as the response of cholangiocytes and innate immune cells in the liver in both patients with cholestasis and cholestatic animal models. We focus on how bile acids trigger the production of molecular mediators of neutrophil recruitment and the role of the inflammatory response in this pathological process. These advances point to a number of novel targets where drugs might be judged to be effective therapies for cholestatic liver injury.
A Unified Framework for Consistency of Regularized Loss Minimizers

We characterize a family of regularized loss minimization problems that satisfy three properties: scaled uniform convergence, super-norm regularization, and norm-loss monotonicity. We show several theoretical guarantees within this framework, including loss consistency, norm consistency, sparsistency (i.e. support recovery) as well as sign consistency. A number of regularization problems can be shown to fall within our framework and we provide several examples. Our results can be seen as a concise summary of existing guarantees but we also extend them to new settings. Our formulation enables us to assume very little about the hypothesis class, data distribution, the loss, or the regularization. In particular, many of our results do not require a bounded hypothesis class, or identically distributed samples. Similarly, we do not assume boundedness, convexity or smoothness of the loss nor the regularizer. We only assume approximate optimality of the empirical minimizer. In terms of recovery, in contrast to existing results, our sparsistency and sign consistency results do not require knowledge of the sub-differential of the objective function.
Attribute-based Reputation as an Internal and External Signal: Examining the U.S Automobile Industry

We study how reputation, based on specific firm attributes and directed towards specific firm stakeholders, functions as an internal and external expectations-setting mechanism shaping managerial a...
MAXIMIZATIONS WITH RESPECT TO CONES IN MATHEMATICAL MODELLING

Abstract Decision criteria often cannot adequately be characterized by the optimization of a real-valued function. Many such criteria, however, can be viewed as the maximization of a function in abstract spaces, where maximization is defined with regard to a cone. Some basic results regarding maximization with respect to cones are summarized here, and examples are presented to illustrate the concepts. Mention is also made of the computational approaches that are available. The modelling of conflict situation is then related to such maximizations, and a result for multi-dimensional game theory is presented. Finally, some socio-economic problems are modelled as maximizations with respect to particular cones.
Energy Efficient Neural Computing: A Study of Cross-Layer Approximations

Deep neural networks (DNNs) have emerged as the state-of-the-art technique in a wide range of machine learning tasks for analytics and computer vision in the next generation of embedded (mobile, IoT, and wearable) devices. Despite their success, they suffer from high energy requirements. In recent years, the inherent error resiliency of DNNs has been exploited by introducing approximations at either the algorithmic or the hardware levels (individually) to obtain energy savings while incurring tolerable accuracy degradation. However, there is a need for investigating the overall energy-accuracy trade-offs arising from the introduction of approximations at different levels in complex DNNs. We perform a comprehensive analysis to determine the effectiveness of cross-layer approximations for the energy-efficient realization of large-scale DNNs. The approximations considered are as follows: 1) use of lower complexity networks (containing lesser number of layers and/or neurons per layer); 2) pruning of synaptic weights; 3) approximate multiplication operation in the neuronal multiply-and-accumulate computation; and 4) approximate write/read operations to/from the synaptic memory. Our experiments on recognition benchmarks (MNIST and CIFAR10) show that cross-layer approximation provides substantial improvements in energy efficiency for different accuracy/quality requirements. Furthermore, we propose a synergistic framework for combining the approximation techniques to achieve maximal energy benefits from approximate DNNs.
A plea for plurealism

In contrast to monistic realism (as represented by Peirce) and pluralistic irrealism (as represented by Goodman) I argue for what I call plurealism, a view which is both pluralistic and realist, recognizing different worlds that are not only independent of one another, but also independent of us.
Hormonal responses of metoclopramide-treated subjects experiencing nausea or emesis during parabolic flight.

The concentrations of adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH), vasopressin (AVP), epinephrine (EPI), and norepinephrine (NE) in 22 subjects administered 10 to 20 mg of metoclopramide prior to parabolic flight are measured. The effect of metoclopramide on motion sickness is examined. It is observed that metoclopramide is ineffective in the modulation of motion sickness due to stressful linear and angular acceleration and orbital flight, and it does not affect serum hormones prior to parabolic flight. It is detected that the serum level of AVP declines following emesis induced by parabolic flight and stressful angular acceleration; the serum levels of ACTH and EPI are elevated by parabolic flight and stressful angular acceleration; and serum NE is significantly elevated immediately following emesis. The possible roles of these hormones in the etiology of space motion sickness are discussed.