cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Chemical and Morphological Analyses of Zinc Powders for Alkaline Batteries

Zinc powders containing Bi, In and either Mg or Al were analyzed to determine chemical and morphological differences. Morphology and chemistry may influence the reactivity of Zn powders in the basic environment found inside alkaline batteries. Increased reactivity leads to increased Zn corrosion, increased hydrogen gas evolution, and possibly leakage of the battery electrolyte. The surface chemistry of the powders was examined using Auger electron spectroscopy, X-ray photoelectron spectroscopy, and atomic absorption spectroscopy to check for surface ZnO. Powder chemistry was measured using an electron probe micro analyzer equipped with an energy dispersive X-ray analyzer. Inert gas fusion determined the bulk oxygen content. Morphology studies included powder sieving for size determination, examining loose powders with a scanning electron microscope (SEM), and determining surface areas via Brunauer, Emmet, and Teller (BET) analyses. SEM images showed differences in powder shapes and surface conditions between passed and failed powders. Powders exhibiting smooth surfaces and regular shapes were more likely to pass gas testing. However, pass/fail gas test results could not be correlated to powder chemistry, powder size, or surface area. Powder roughness and irregularity may indicate an increase in the number of active sites such as peaks and barbs versus particles with smooth surfaces.
An Experimental System for Investigation of Flexible Links Experiencing General Motions

This paper describes the first phase of an analytical and experimental program investigating flexible manipulators capable of motions in two planes. The experimental phase examines the impact of combined motions in two planes and current hardware capabilities on system modeling requirements and performance. The analytical work described in this paper extends application of balanced realization analysis to include the effect of measurement technique on model order estimates for flexible manipulators. The initial results for a manipulator capable of planar motions indicate that measurement of strains in the flexible link place more stringent requirements on system modeling. This result is compared to previous experimentally observed results.
YouTube space as the propagative source for social power: an experimental study on the social meaning of disaster

The meaning of disaster is explored in the context of Weick's (1995) sensemaking concepts through three different videos on YouTube. Information Communication Technologies (ICT) has become much more critical for individuals coping with disaster experiences. YouTube connects people in ways that transform their way of understandings of historic disasters, challenging the traditional view of disaster that is based on developmental stages in temporal measurement: prediction, planning, rescue, relief, recovery, reconstruction, and rehabilitation. In modern disaster situations, disaster is no longer a temporal event but it is a continuum. Through a grounded theory approach, this study looks solely at those individual comments.
A New Tool for Epidemiology: The Usefulness of Dynamic-Agent Models in Understanding Place Effects on Health

A major focus of recent work on the spatial patterning of health has been the study of how features of residential environments or neighborhoods may affect health. Place effects on health emerge from complex interdependent processes in which individuals interact with each other and their environment and in which both individuals and environments adapt and change over time. Traditional epidemiologic study designs and statistical regression approaches are unable to examine these dynamic processes. These limitations have constrained the types of questions asked, the answers received, and the hypotheses and theoretical explanations that are developed. Agent-based models and other systems-dynamics models may help to address some of these challenges. Agent-based models are computer representations of systems consisting of heterogeneous microentities that can interact and change/adapt over time in response to other agents and features of the environment. Using these models, one can observe how macroscale dynamics emerge from microscale interactions and adaptations. A number of challenges and limitations exist for agent-based modeling. Nevertheless, use of these dynamic models may complement traditional epidemiologic analyses and yield additional insights into the processes involved and the interventions that may be most useful.
Glutamatergic and GABAergic modulations of ultrasonic vocalizations during maternal separation distress in mouse pups

Introduction Dysregulation of GABAergic inhibition and glutamatergic excitation has been implicated in exaggerated anxiety. Mouse pups emit distress-like ultrasonic vocalizations (USVs) when they are separated from their dam/siblings, and this behavior is reduced by benzodiazepines (BZs) which modulate GABAergic inhibition. The roles of glutamate receptors on USVs remain to be investigated.
The Path Of The Leopard: Motherhood And Majesty In Early Danhomé

Etude des mythes du Dahomey d'origine dynastique, offrant une critique et un contre-recit a l'histoire officielle dynastique. Les premieres femmes de l'Etat, surtout les meres et les epouses des premiers dirigeants, s'opposent a ce contre-recit. Les histoires provocatrices de ces femmes non seulement ajoutent une importante dimension humaine a l'histoire du Dahomey mais aussi soulevent d'importantes questions methodologiques, concernant les evenements associes a leurs vies qui contredisent une bonne partie de ce qui a ete ecrit sur les origines du royaume. Au Dahomey, les evenements associes au commencement de la dynastie furent mythifies dans une fiction elaboree de la naissance et de l'inceste du leopard. Alors que les chercheurs s'interrogerent longtemps sur la veracite de ces dires, aujourd'hui, il manque encore une alternative coherente. A travers l'analyse des histoires de ces femmes royales, la constitution d'une nouvelle histoire des origines du royaume est possible
You cannot be a leader unless someone is willing to follow

Managers are often expected to fill the role of leader and manager because both of these roles help an organization achieve their intended outcomes. In many situations managers are also leaders but there are equally as many situations when they are not. The expectation that managers will always be leaders and that the roles are synonymous or interchangeable presumes that each role can be defined by describing the traits or behavior of an individual who fills the role. This does not account for the qualities of interaction between leader and followers that must take place if leadership occurs. Managers can manage without willing followers: leaders cannot.
A COHERENCY MODEL FOR SPATIALLY VARYING GROUND MOTIONS

A theoretical model for the coherency function describing spatial variability of earthquake ground motions is developed. The model consists of three components characterizing three distinct effects of spatial variability, namely, the incoherence effect that arises from scattering of waves in the heterogeneous medium of the ground and their differential superpositioning when arriving from an extended source, the wave-passage effect that arises from difference in the arrival times of waves at different stations, and the site-response effect that arises from difference in the local soil conditions at different stations. Attenuation of waves, which also gives rise to spatial variability, is shown to have little influence on the coherency function. It is shown that the incoherence component of the coherency function is a real-valued, non-negative, decaying function of frequency and interstation distance, whereas the wave-passage and site-response components are complex functions of unit modulus that characterize the phasing of the wave components. A parametric study reveals that the site-response effect can be more significant for short- or medium-span structures situated in regions with rapidly varying local soil conditions, whereas the wave-passage effect can be more significant for long-span, flexible structures.
Fluctuations in SO2 emission during recent eruptions of Etna

The eruptive activity of July-August 1977 of Mt. Etna consisted of four separate, short eruptive episodes. The rate of SO2 emission during these eruptions was monitored using a remote-sensing correlation spectrometer. The obtained data suggest that fluctuations in the SO2 emission rate provide a means for predicting eruptions of Etna. The July-August 1977 eruptions were confined to the North East Crater vent, while continuous degassing occurred from the central vents. The continuous gas plume was blown downwind immediately after it was emitted while the eruption plumes from the North East Crater rose 500-1,000 m before being blown horizontally. Monitoring began on 24 July, immediately after the first eruptive episode had ended, and continued until 27 August.
Aging and Selective Engagement: The Moderating Impact of Motivation on Older Adults’ Resource Utilization

Two studies were conducted to examine age differences in the impact of motivation in a social cognitive task. We tested the hypothesis that aging is associated with an increase in the selective engagement of cognitive resources in support of performance. Different-aged adults read descriptions of 2 people in order to determine which was better suited for a particular job. These descriptions contained behaviors that were either consistent or inconsistent with the job, and participants performed the task under conditions of high versus low accountability. Examination of memory for behavioral information revealed that accountability disproportionately affected older adults' performance, with the locus of this effect being in conscious recollection processes. This supports the aforementioned selective engagement hypothesis by demonstrating that the differential impact of the motivational manipulation was based in deliberative memory processes.
Plastocyanin: Structure, Location, Diffusion and Electron Transfer Mechanisms

Introduction Structure The Occurrence and Distribution of Plastocyanin Amino Acid Sequences Three Dimensional Structure General Features of Plastocyanin The Copper Center, apo-Plastocyanin and Protein Folding Potential Binding Sites for Reaction Partners The Electrostatic Field of Plastocyanin The Interaction of Plastocyanin with Cytochrome f Interactions of Electron Carriers The Electrostatic Nature of the Interaction between Plastocyanin and Cytochrome f The Binding Site on Plastocyanin for Cytochrome f The Negative Patches Tyrosine 83 Modification of Other Residues The Structure of Cytochrome f and its Interaction with Plastocyanin The Electrostatic Field of Cytochrome f The Interaction of Plastocyanin with P700 The Role of Electrostatic Forces and Divalent Cations in the Interaction between Plastocyanin and Photosystem I The Binding Site on Photosystem I for Plastocyanin The Binding Site on Plastocyanin for Photosystem I The Function of Plastocyanin in the Lumen of the Thylakoid at Acid pH The Effect of pH on the Structure of Plastocyanin The Effect of pH on the Redox and Electron Transfer Properties of Plastocyanin Conclusions Acknowledgments References I. II. A. B. C. 1. 2. 3. 4. III. A. B. C. 1. 2. 3. D. E. IV. A.
Developing a Medical Achievement Reading Test to Evaluate Patient Literacy Skills: A Preliminary Study

A medical terminology achievement reading test (MART) administered to patients was developed for health care practitioners and researchers. In this study, 405 respondents from five populations (nursing home patients, college students, high school students, adult basic education students, and shopping mall customers) took both the MART and the Wide Range Achievement Test (WRAT). Cronbach's reliability test alpha indicated a high level (alpha = 0.98) of likelihood that the MART score is a good estimate of the true score (WRAT), and, therefore, reading ability. MART is designed to resemble a prescription label with its use of small print size, glossy cover, and medical terminology. This design allows practitioners and researchers to assess patients' inability to read the test. It is thought that its design and use of medical terminology makes the MART less threatening to patients than other literacy tests. Further studies of the MART in low-literate populations could determine whether this is true.
Awakenings: Autobiography, Memory, and the Social Logic of Personal Discovery

Taking a formal, sociocognitive approach to narrative analysis, I explore autobiographical stories about discovering “truth” in political, psychological, religious, and sexual realms of social life. Despite (A) significant differences in subject matter and (B) conflicting and often oppositional notions of truth, individuals in very different social environments tell stories that follow the same awakening narrative formula. Analyzing accounts from a wide variety of social and historical contexts, I plot the temporal structure of the awakening narrative formula to show how individuals and communities use these autobiographical stories to define salient moral and political concerns and weigh in on cultural and epistemic disputes. Awakening narratives are important mechanisms of mnemonic and autobiographical revision that individuals use to redefine their past experiences and relationships, testify to “truth,” and plot future courses of action while explaining major transformations of worldview. Awakeners use two ideal-typical vocabularies of liminality to justify traversing the social divide between different autobiographical communities within contentious autobiographical fields. They divide their lives into discrete autobiographical periods and convey a temporally divided self, performing a figurative interaction between past and present versions of the self – a storied self-interaction that expresses a contentious dialogue between different autobiographical communities. Individuals use this autobiographical formula to reject the cognitive and mnemonic norms of one community and embrace those of another. Advancing a “social geometry” of awakening narratives, I illuminate the social logic behind our seemingly personal discoveries of “truth.” Expanding on the central themes of this analysis, I suggest that a cultural and cognitive sociology of autobiography should uphold five interrelated tenets: (1) autobiography is a form of social memory, (2) autobiography is a form of social time, (3) autobiography is a form of social epistemology, (4) autobiography is a form of social drama, and (5) autobiography is a communicative act directed at multifarious audiences. By explicitly focusing on autobiography as an analytic domain, we can reveal important ways that individuals do cultural work and perform meaning by telling stories about their lives.%%%%
Valosin-containing protein and the pathogenesis of frontotemporal dementia associated with inclusion body myopathy

Frontotemporal dementia with inclusion body myopathy and Paget’s disease of bone (IBMPFD) is a rare, autosomal dominant disorder caused by mutations in the gene valosin-containing protein (VCP). The CNS pathology is characterized by a novel pattern of ubiquitin pathology distinct from sporadic and familial frontotemporal lobar degeneration with ubiquitin-positive inclusions without VCP mutations. Yet, the ubiquitin-positive inclusions in IBMPFD also stain for TAR DNA binding protein, a feature that links this rare disease with the pathology associated with the majority of sporadic FTD as well as disease resulting from different genetic alterations. VCP, a member of the AAA-ATPase gene family, associates with a plethora of protein adaptors to perform a variety of cellular processes including Golgi assembly/disassembly and regulation of the ubiquitin–proteasome system. However, the mechanism whereby mutations in VCP lead to CNS, muscle, and bone disease is largely unknown. In this report, we review current literature on IBMPFD, focusing on the pathology of the disease and the biology of VCP with respect to IBMPFD.
Adaptive decoding for brain-machine interfaces through bayesian parameter updates

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) transform the activity of neurons recorded in motor areas of the brain into movements of external actuators. Representation of movements by neuronal populations varies over time, during both voluntary limb movements and movements controlled through BMIs, due to motor learning, neuronal plasticity, and instability in recordings. To ensure accurate BMI performance over long time spans, BMI decoders must adapt to these changes. We propose the Bayesian regression self-training method for updating the parameters of an unscented Kalman filter decoder. This novel paradigm uses the decoder's output to periodically update its neuronal tuning model in a Bayesian linear regression. We use two previously known statistical formulations of Bayesian linear regression: a joint formulation, which allows fast and exact inference, and a factorized formulation, which allows the addition and temporary omission of neurons from updates but requires approximate variational inference. To evaluate these methods, we performed offline reconstructions and closed-loop experiments with rhesus monkeys implanted cortically with microwire electrodes. Offline reconstructions used data recorded in areas M1, S1, PMd, SMA, and PP of three monkeys while they controlled a cursor using a handheld joystick. The Bayesian regression self-training updates significantly improved the accuracy of offline reconstructions compared to the same decoder without updates. We performed 11 sessions of real-time, closed-loop experiments with a monkey implanted in areas M1 and S1. These sessions spanned 29 days. The monkey controlled the cursor using the decoder with and without updates. The updates maintained control accuracy and did not require information about monkey hand movements, assumptions about desired movements, or knowledge of the intended movement goals as training signals. These results indicate that Bayesian regression self-training can maintain BMI control accuracy over long periods, making clinical neuroprosthetics more viable.
Obesity, lymphadenectomy and survival outcomes in intermediate to high-risk, early-stage endometrial cancer patients

ABSTRACT Aim: Lymphadenectomy or lymph node dissection is a topic of controversy in endometrial cancer (EC) treatment. Materials & methods: Associations between lymph node dissections and clinical factors were retrospectively examined in obese, endometrioid endometrial cancer patients with early-stage disease between 1995 and 2005. Overall, EC-specific and recurrence-free survival were also evaluated. Results: Out of 192 patients, 61 (32%) did not have a lymph node examination, 55 (29%) had less than ten lymph nodes removed and 76 (39%) had ≥10 removed. Lymph node dissection count was not significantly associated with overall, EC-specific or recurrence-free survival. Conclusion: Analysis revealed no significant associations between ≥10 dissected lymph nodes and survival outcomes among obese, EC patients, which supports the need for additional investigation of the merit of lymphadenectomy among these patients.
Volumetric properties of nonpolar gaseous mixtures

Volumetric data of nonpolar gaseous mixtures are analyzed in terms of the theory of corresponding states. Special attention is given to an analysis of the second virial coefficient and to the calculation of pseudocritical constants. Second virial coefficients are calculated from experimental data for ten binary systems. These coefficients, with those previously published, are correlated by means of a generalized equation involving three parameters for each component: the critical volume, the reduced temperature, and the acentric factor. Equations are derived for the pseudocritical temperature and pressure of mixtures. These equations are considerably more accurate than those given by Kay's rule. Because of the complexity of the proposed equations for the pseudocritical parameters, a simplified pseudocritical method is presented which is sufficiently accurate for most chemical engineering purposes, especially at reduced temperatures exceeding 1.3.
Disparities in Reportable Communicable Disease Incidence by Census Tract-Level Poverty, New York City, 2006–2013

Objectives. We described disparities in selected communicable disease incidence across area-based poverty levels in New York City, an area with more than 8 million residents and pronounced household income inequality.Methods. We geocoded and categorized cases of 53 communicable diseases diagnosed during 2006 to 2013 by census tract-based poverty level. Age-standardized incidence rate ratios (IRRs) were calculated for areas with 30% or more versus fewer than 10% of residents below the federal poverty threshold.Results. Diseases associated with high poverty included rickettsialpox (IRR = 3.69; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 2.29, 5.95), chronic hepatitis C (IRR for new reports = 3.58; 95% CI = 3.50, 3.66), and malaria (IRR = 3.48; 95% CI = 2.97, 4.08). Diseases associated with low poverty included domestic tick-borne diseases acquired through travel to areas where infected vectors are prevalent, such as human granulocytic anaplasmosis (IRR = 0.08; 95% CI = 0.03, 0.19) and Lyme disease (IRR = 0.34; 95% CI = ...
Willemsdorp by Herman Charles Bosman: the small-town locale as fictional vehicle for commentary on social and moral issues in the South African historical context

Herman Charles Bosman’s short stories are stylistically and thematically different from his novels. With the exception of “A Bekkersdal marathon” and “Sold down the river” all Bosman’s short stories, numbering more than one hundred, take the South African farm as their setting. Bosman’s first novel, Jacaranda in the Night, of which his second novel Willemsdorp is a reworking, followed his sojourn (1942–43) as a journalist in the country town of Pietersburg in the Northern Transvaal region of South Africa. It appears that Bosman’s light-hearted, if tragicomic, lampooning of the South African farm and its inhabitiants (in his short stories) was replaced in his small-town novels by a dark satire of South African society during the Union period. In Willemsdorp Bosman holds up a mirror to the small town microcosm in order to reveal a (rather unpleasant) picture of the national macrocosm. Willemsdorp had been subjected to censorship at the time of first publication (1977) because of the writer’s response to the mechanisms of prevailing racist ideology such as the Immorality Act, which resulted in his representation in the novel of police sadism towards people participating in interracial sexual acts. The reassessment of Willemsdorp that emerged with the publication of the full, uncensored text in 1998 has made it possible to establish its significance as a precursor of politically engaged protest literature in apartheid South Africa. It is perhaps for this reason that biographer and editor Stephen Gray in an introduction to the 1998 edition dubs it “the most important single item among the Bosman Texas papers”.
Watermarking as communications with side information

Several authors have drawn comparison between embedded signaling or watermarking and communications, especially spread-spectrum communications. We examine the similarities and differences between watermarking and traditional communications. This comparison suggests that watermarking most closely resembles communications with side information at the transmitter and or detector, a configuration originally described by Shannon (1958). This leads to several novel characteristics and insights regarding embedded signaling which are discussed in detail.
Density-dependent growth interactions between Eleocharis acicularis (L.) R. & S. and Juncus peleocarpus forma Submersus Fassett

Abstract Interspecific and intraspecific interactions were examined in Eleocharis acicularis (L.) R. & S. and Juncus pelocarpus forma submersus Fassett, two rhizomatous perennial plants which occur in the littoral zones of many temperate oligotrophic lakes. Reciprocal replacement series experiments were established in Roach Lake, U.S.A., at 4 ratios and 3 densities during the 1982 and 1983 growing seasons. Changes in biomass and in a variety of morphological characters were measured. Although the species did not differ in biomass change, Eleocharis produced more rosettes, longer rhizomes and more new photosynthetic structures in the first season than did Juncus . Effects of neighbors, regardless of species, were more important than interspecific interactions. Growth interactions between these species were competitively neutral. Differences between Eleocharis and Juncus growth dynamics lead to contrasting clonal structures that facilitate coexistence. The results would not have been interpretable without detailed, plant-by-plant morphological data. Such detailed structural analysis may be essential in studies of interspecific interactions among macrophytes.
Dating Trajectories From Middle to High School: Association With Academic Performance and Drug Use

This study identifies trajectories of dating from sixth to twelfth grade and describes the academic performance (teacher-rated study skills and high school dropout) and self-reported drug use associated with these trajectories, in a diverse sample randomly selected in sixth grade. Using a group-based, semiparametric procedure, we identified four dating trajectories: low (16%), increasing (24%), high middle school (22%), and frequent (38%). Students in these latter two groups had significantly worse study skills, were four times more likely to drop out of school, and reported twice as much alcohol, tobacco, and marijuana use than students in the low and increasing dating groups. This study highlights the diversity of dating trajectories and some of the risks associated with early dating.
Dinosaur-bearing oncoids from ephemeral lakes of the Lower Cretaceous Cedar Mountain Formation, Utah

Here we document the occurrence of locally common oncoids in the Cedar Mountain Formation of Utah in the Woodside Anticline area of the San Rafael Swell and use them to understand changes in the Early Cretaceous landscape and their effects on the dinosaur fauna. Detailed facies analysis is required to understand the context of these changes within the broader patterns of Mesozoic tectonics and the fossil record. Oncolite crops out in the Cedar Mountain Formation, directly overlying the Buckhorn Conglomerate. Oncolite is not widely distributed outside of the Woodside Anticline area. The oncoids are found in a bimodal population with the majority in the 2–5-cm-diameter range and a smaller population >25 cm in diameter. Nuclei are mostly rounded chert clasts and also include litharenite, polymict conglomerate, limestone, and both abraded and nonabraded dinosaur bone and wood fragments. Cortices are 3–5 mm thick with distinct, penecint (laminae that completely enclose a body; Hofmann, 1969), low-relief laminae. Some laminae are crenulated and comprise ministromatolites. The petrography of the oncoids suggests formation along lake margins where large fragments of reworked sedimentary clasts and dinosaur bones came to rest and were coated by bacterial mats. Caliche cements and coats some of the oncolite; these define a lake shoreline affected by fluctuating lake level. The isotope geochemistry indicates a combination of primary and diagenetic signals consistent with oncoid formation in open, ephemeral freshwater lakes.
IEEE President-Elect Candidates Address Computer Society Concerns

The answers to questions that the IEEE Computer Societys senior volunteer leaders posed to the IEEE's president-elect candidates are provided to help the Societys members make their decisions when voting in the IEEEs annual election of officers.
Essential Role of Neutrophils in Germ Cell-Specific Apoptosis Following Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury of the Mouse Testis

This study investigates the role of neutrophils in ischemia-induced aspermatogenesis in the mouse. Previous studies in the rat have demonstrated that ischemia-inducing testicular torsion followed by torsion repair and reperfusion resulted in germ cell-specific apoptosis. This was correlated with an increase in neutrophil adhesion to subtunical venules, an increase in reactive oxygen species, and increased expression of several apoptosis-associated molecules. In the present investigation, wild-type C57BL/6 mice were subjected to various degrees and duration of testicular torsion. A torsion of 720° for 2 h caused disruption of the seminiferous epithelium and significantly reduced testis weight and daily sperm production. An immunohistochemical method specific for apoptotic nuclei indicated that these effects were due to germ cell-specific apoptosis. An increase in myeloperoxidase (MPO) activity and an increase in the number of neutrophils adhering to testicular subtunical venules after torsion repair/reperfusion demonstrated an increase in neutrophil recruitment to the testis. In contrast, E-selectin knockout mice and wild-type mice rendered neutropenic showed a significant decrease in neutrophil recruitment as evidenced by MPO activity and microscopic examination of subtunical venules. Importantly, germ cell-specific apoptosis was also reduced. Thus, germ cell-specific apoptosis is observed after ischemia/reperfusion of the murine testis, and this apoptosis is directly linked to the recruitment of neutrophils to subtunical venules. Endothelial cell adhesion molecules, particularly E-selectin, play an important role in mediating this pathology.
Successful 24-hour preservation of the ischemic canine kidney with Euro-Collins solution.

AbstractThe effect of 35 minutes of warm ischemia (37C) on renal function and adenine nucleotide content of canine kidneys preserved for 24 and 48 hours in Euro-Collins (EC) solution was investigated. In addition, the effect of donor pretreatment with intravenous mannitol, furosemide and methylprednisolone and the addition of adenosine triphosphate (ATP/MgCl2) to the EC flush and storage solution was studied. Donor pretreatment or the addition of ATP/MgCl2 to the flushing and storage solution did not significantly affect postautotransplant renal function of kidneys stored for 24 hours, although it improved tissue adenine nucleotide levels. Results after 48-hour preservation were significantly poorer. These experiments demonstrate that canine kidneys subjected to 35 minutes of warm ischemia time can be stored for 24 hours in EC solution and thereafter provide immediate life-sustaining function.
Patient-Specific Dosimetry, Radiobiology, and the Previously-Treated Patient

Dosimetry methodologies that account for individual patient anatomy and radionuclide distribution have been developed. The limitations and possible model-based extensions to patient-specific dosimetry in radiopharmaceutical therapy (RPT) are reviewed. Dosimetry is relevant to RPT to the extent that it can be used to improve treatment outcome. Doing so involves assessing the potential benefit or harm of RPT on a given patient. The objective of introducing radiobiology as part of patient-specific dosimetry is to translate organ and tumor absorbed doses (i.e., energy absorbed per unit mass of tissue) into measures of tumor control or toxicity. The potential benefits, applicability and limitations of radiobiological modeling in RPT are briefly reviewed. Normal organ and tumor absorbed dose must be recognized as one of several factors that lead to toxicity or response. Prior treatment history will, in some cases, dictate response and complicate efforts to evaluate response and toxicity based on dosimetry and radiobiological modeling.
Relief of obstructive jaundice from pancreatic cancer: the end of the plastic stent era?

Initially described by Soehendra and Reynders-Frederix1 in 1980, plastic stents have been widely used for endoscopic relief of malignant biliary obstruction. The relative ease of placement and removal of plastic stents, as well as their low cost, have made them an attractive option for the past 35 years. It has been apparent for decades, however, that self-expandable metal stents (SEMS) provide much more durable biliary drainage than plastic stents. Accumulating evidence now suggests that it may no longer be justifiable to use plastic stents when it is clear that metal stents are associated with superior outcomes, fewer adverse events (AEs) and fewer repeated interventions.2 These advantages, along with reductions in length of hospital stay, appear to fully offset the high initial cost of selecting an SEMS over a plastic stent for palliation of malignant distal biliary obstruction—even in patients whose projected life expectancy is limited.3 ,4 In patients with borderline resectable pancreatic cancer who are undergoing neoadjuvant therapy, SEMS have also …
Affective forecasting in schizophrenia: comparing predictions to real-time Ecological Momentary Assessment (EMA) ratings.

Objective "Affective forecasting" refers to the predictions people make about future affective experiences. These predictions influence decision making, which in turn might impact individuals' level of functioning, goal-directed behavior, and pursuit of potentially rewarding activities. In the current study, we explored affective forecasting in people diagnosed with schizophrenia. Method Twenty-four participants with schizophrenia or schizoaffective disorder were asked to provide affective forecasts for an upcoming week. They were subsequently given a handheld mobile device that prompted them to complete "in-the-moment" positive affect (i.e., feeling active, excited, interested) and negative affect (i.e., jittery, scared, hostile, upset, guilty) ratings 6 times daily, over the next 7 days. Paired-sample t tests were used to compare forecasts to average weekly momentary ratings. Results Participants expected more emotionally charged weeks than they actually experienced-both positive affect forecasts and negative affect forecasts were more intense than the average weekly ratings. Conclusions and implications for practice The findings of the study have implications for psychiatric rehabilitation; outlining the differences between consumer forecasts (e.g., excessively pessimistic predictions, unrealistic expectations) and actual experience can serve as a component of psychosocial interventions, including motivational interviewing, goal setting, thought challenging, and vocational rehabilitation. Mobile technologies can be incorporated for short-term data collection in the context of these rehabilitation efforts.
Multiple sclerosis: vitamin D and calcium as environmental determinants of prevalence: (A viewpoint) part 2. biochemical and genetic factors

According to the vitamin D hypothesis, demyelination in multiple sclerosis results from a breakdown of myelin due to abnormal lipid composition and structure, produced during the period of brain development. The observed abnormalities (altered lipid concentrations and fatty acid profiles) are viewed as a consequence of deficiencies in enzymes that govern myelin lipid synthesis and membrane assembly. The enzyme deficiencies, genetic in origin, are proposed to occur because of inadequate supplies of vitamin D and calcium at times of rapid myelination and growth, mainly in adolescence. If the theory proves to be correct, it may be possible to suppress the disease by dietary supplementation with vitamin D and calcium during puberty.
Single valve replacement with the Beall mitral prosthesis.

The Beall valve is a satisfactory prosthesis for obtaining good clinical improvement in patients undergoing mitral valve replacement. A high incidence of early hemolysis is found which can usually be controlled by the administration of iron and folic acid. A low incidence of thromboembolism in anticoagulated patients has been observed. High mean diastolic gradients are noted at rest. They increase with exercise but do not interfere with clinical improvement. A significant number of these patients will show clinical deterioration primarily due to myocardial disease. Disc variance occurs in the Teflon discs in the early Model 104 Beall prosthesis and is a source of concern to us at this time; the complication has been noted in 3 patients and probably exists in a fourth. The mortality rate for mitral valve surgery can be reduced by operating upon the patients before there is marked myocardial deterioration and by correcting other problems at the same time in other valve areas and in the coronary arterial system.
Does a special twin situation contribute to similarity for abilities in MZ and DZ twins

Evidence for and against the validity of the assumption of equal environments for MZ and DZ twins is reviewed, and the consequences of possible violations of the assumption are considered. Further methods of testing the validity of the assumption, as well as possible means of correcting in part for violations, are suggested.
Antenatal perineal massage to prevent birth trauma.

Antenatal digital perineal massage in the final month of pregnancy is safe and well tolerated. Women who have not had a previous vaginal delivery and perform digital perineal massage in the final month of pregnancy experience less perineal birth trauma, mostly through fewer episiotomies, than those who have not performed massage. Women who have had a previous vaginal delivery do not experience a reduction in birth trauma, but they report less pain at three months postpartum. No difference is noted in assisted vaginal deliveries, sexual satisfaction, or urinary incontinence.
Observed Properties of Planetary Ionospheres

Information on the ionosphere of Earth has accumulated for the past four decades. Originally, electron density was the only primary quantity observable by groundbased radio techniques. During the last two decades information on other physical parameters of the ionosphere, such as charged particle temperature (T e , T i and ion composition (m i ), as well as measurements of the ionizing radiations and the neutral atmosphere have become available. Satellites have provided a global picture of these parameters while at selected locations, groundbased incoherent backscatter radars have made possible the study of the time variations of these parameters as a function of altitude. In addition, sounding rocket experiments have provided direct measurements of many ionospheric parameters as a function of altitude, especially in the lower ionosphere.
Hedge fund return, volatility asymmetry, and systemic effects: A higher-moment factor-EGARCH model

Abstract We investigate whether: (i) co-skewness and co-kurtosis are significant factors in modeling hedge fund (HF) returns, (ii) HF return volatility displays clusters, asymmetry and shock persistence, (iii) volatility clusters of HF styles drive volatility clusters of one another, major asset classes, and major banking organizations, (iv) HF return and volatility patterns changed after the financial crises of 1998 and 2007–2009. A higher-moment EGARCH model and monthly data over January 1993–April 2014 period on 13 HF styles are employed. Out-of-sample forecasts are generated over the period of May 2014–April 2016. Results show: (i) most of the co-skewness and co-kurtosis coefficients are statistically significant, strongly supporting the higher-moment return generating models; (ii) there is strong evidence in favor of EGARCH specification, volatility clustering, asymmetry, and shock persistence; (iii) there were distinct effects on the returns and volatilities of HFs during the 1998 Russian bond crisis, Long-Term Capital Management crisis, and the 2007–2009 financial crisis; and (iv) shocks to volatility clusters of a HF style do spillover to other HF styles, major banking firms, and key asset classes. Our findings have major implications for regulators, investors, HF managers and hedging strategists.
Fitness Landscapes Reveal Simple Strategies for Steering Evolution to Minimize Antibiotic Resistance

The evolution of antibiotic resistance presents a practical and theoretical challenge: the design of strategies that limit the risk of evolved resistance while effectively treating current patients. Sequentially cycling antibiotics has been proposed as a way to slow the evolution of resistance by reducing the extent of adaptation to a given drug, and clinical trials have demonstrated its effectiveness in some settings. Empirical fitness landscapes in theory allow the sequence of drugs to be refined to maximize tradeoffs between drugs and thereby slow adaptation even further. Using the measured growth rates of 16 genotypes of Escherichia coli in the presence of β-lactam antibiotics, we test an adaptive strategy, based on a Markov chain transition matrix, to select drug sequences that continuously minimize resistance. Cycling is never selected over the long term. Instead, monotherapy with the antibiotic that permits the least growth in its landscape9s absorbing state is rapidly selected from different starting conditions. Analysis of a synthetic fitness landscape shows that cycling drugs that induce sensitivity to one other could, in theory, outperform monotherapy. These results underscore the importance of considering the specific topologies of fitness landscape in determining whether to cycle drugs and suggest a general computational approach to identify high performing, practical strategies to manage resistance.
A Central Amygdala CRF Circuit Facilitates Learning about Weak Threats.

Summary Fear is a graded central motive state ranging from mild to intense. As threat intensity increases, fear transitions from discriminative to generalized. The circuit mechanisms that process threats of different intensity are not well resolved. Here, we isolate a unique population of locally projecting neurons in the central nucleus of the amygdala (CeA) that produce the neuropeptide corticotropin-releasing factor (CRF). CRF-producing neurons and CRF in the CeA are required for discriminative fear, but both are dispensable for generalized fear at high US intensities. Consistent with a role in discriminative fear, CRF neurons undergo plasticity following threat conditioning and selectively respond to threat-predictive cues. We further show that excitability of genetically isolated CRF-receptive (CRFR1) neurons in the CeA is potently enhanced by CRF and that CRFR1 signaling in the CeA is critical for discriminative fear. These findings demonstrate a novel CRF gain-control circuit and show separable pathways for graded fear processing.
Structure-Based Design and Synthesis of Potent and Selective Matrix Metalloproteinase 13 Inhibitors.

We describe the use of comparative structural analysis and structure-guided molecular design to develop potent and selective inhibitors (10d and (S)-17b) of matrix metalloproteinase 13 (MMP-13). We applied a three-step process, starting with a comparative analysis of the X-ray crystallographic structure of compound 5 in complex with MMP-13 with published structures of known MMP-13·inhibitor complexes followed by molecular design and synthesis of potent but nonselective zinc-chelating MMP inhibitors (e.g., 10a and 10b). After demonstrating that the pharmacophores of the chelating inhibitors (S)-10a, (R)-10a, and 10b were binding within the MMP-13 active site, the Zn2+ chelating unit was replaced with nonchelating polar residues that bridged over the Zn2+ binding site and reached into a solvent accessible area. After two rounds of structural optimization, these design approaches led to small molecule MMP-13 inhibitors 10d and (S)-17b, which bind within the substrate-binding site of MMP-13 and surround the c...
Cooled cutter control algorithm based on fuzzy logic

This paper is dedicated to ways to increase accuracy at CNC machining products by means of control of cooling rate of the machine and rise of cutting speed providing the required accuracy. The authors propose an automated control system of cooling cutter and its operation algorithm.
Amphiregulin regulates proliferation and migration of HER2-positive breast cancer cells

Tumor initiation and progression rely on cellular proliferation and migration. Many factors are involved in these processes, including growth factors. Amphiregulin (AREG) is involved in normal mammary development and the development of estrogen receptor (ER)-positive breast cancer. The aim of this project was to determine if AREG is involved in the proliferation and progression of HER2-positive breast cancer. Mouse cell lines MMTV-neu, HC-11 and COMMA-D, as well as human cell lines MCF10A, SKBR3, HCC1954 and BT474 were used. Real-time PCR was used to quantify AREG expression and neutralizing antibodies were used to reduce the autocrine/paracrine effects of AREG. Transfections using siRNA and shRNA were used to knockdown AREG expression in the cancer cell lines. Free-floating sphere formation, colony forming, scratch wound and Transwell assays were used to assess the proliferation, tumor forming and migratory capacities of transfected cancer cells. We found AREG expression in both normal epithelial cell lines and tumor-derived cell lines. Knockdown of AREG protein expression resulted in reduced sphere sizes and reduced sphere numbers in both mouse and human cancer cells that overexpress erbB2/HER2. AREG was found to be involved in cancer cell migration and invasion. In addition, we found that AREG expression knockdown resulted in different migration capacities in normal and erbB2/HER2 overexpressing cancer cells. Based on our results we conclude that AREG is involved in regulating the proliferation and migration of erbB2/HER2-positive breast cancer cells.
Provision of rehabilitation services for children with disabilities living in low- and middle-income countries: a scoping review.

Background: Childhood disability is a growing global health priority. The purpose of this scoping review was to identify and summarize rehabilitation interventions used to support children with dis...
National Parks, coffee and NTFPs: the livelihood capabilities of Adivasis in Kodagu, India

Protected Areas, as a conservation strategy, often constrain livelihood outcomes of groups that are less powerful, politically marginalized, and poor. At the same time, the poor often depend on a market economy that is volatile. Working on coffee plantations and the collection of non-timber forest products (NTFPs) are the two major livelihood options available for the Adivasi indigenous community in Kodagu, India. The article identifies the institutional factors at global, regional, or local levels that influence the livelihood capabilities of Adivasis. While the creation of a National Park negatively influenced almost all aspects of the Adivasis' livelihood, labor demand on coffee farms, and NTFP collection rights outside the Park provided them with some alternative resources. But deregulation of the Indian coffee market made them more vulnerable to the market economy. The social relations between Adivasis and nearby farming communities have helped them to cope with risks to their livelihoods during crises and emergencies. Key words: Livelihoods, Coffee, NTFP, Adivasis, LAMPS, Kodagu
Development of an elastothermoviscoplasticity damage model for injection molded short fiber reinforced thermoplastics with anisotropic damage evolutions

ABSTRACTThis paper presents a finite deformation anisotropic and temperature-dependent constitutive model, which is developed for predicting elastoviscoplasticity and progressive damage behavior of...