cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Determination of binding constants of polyethylene glycol vancomycin derivatives to peptide ligands using affinity capillary electrophoresis

Vancomycin (Van) from Streptomyces orientalis has been derivatized with polyethylene glycol [PEG; PEG-550 (1), 750 (2), 1,100 (3), 2,000 (4), 5,000 (5), and 8,000 (6) g mol−1] at the N-terminus of the glycopeptide backbone and their binding to d-Ala-d-Ala terminus peptides assessed using affinity capillary electrophoresis (ACE). Utilizing ACE, a plug of Van-PEG and non-interacting standards are injected and electrophoresed. Analysis of the change in the relative migration time ratio of the Van-PEG species, relative to the non-interacting standards, as a function of the concentration of peptide, yields a value for the binding constant (K b). Values of K b for N-acetyl-d-Ala-d-Ala, 7 to the Van-PEG derivatives are weaker than those for N α,N e-diacetyl-Lys-d-Ala-d-Ala, 8 (for example, values of K b for 7-1 and 8-1 are 1.8 and 47.7 × 103 M−1, respectively). These results demonstrate that derivatization of Van with PEG has little effect on the affinity of d-Ala-d-Ala peptide ligands to it. The findings further prove the versatility of ACE and its ability to estimate binding parameters of ligands to antibiotics.
Accuracy of body mass index in volunteer firefighters

Background Obesity is prevalent among career firefighters and may contribute to heart attacks, a leading cause of on-duty fatalities. The US National Fire Protection Association estimates that 800 000 of 1.1 mil lion firefighters are volunteers. Body mass index (BMI) is commonly used to assess obesity, but little is known about its accuracy in volunteer firefighters, in whom muscle mass may be higher, given firefighting’s physical demands, reducing its accuracy in identifying obesity. Aims To evaluate the accuracy of BMI in identifying obese volunteer firefighters. Methods Height, weight and body composition were measured in 73 male volunteer firefighters (mean age 40 ± 12). The proportions with BMI ≥ 25 kg/m 2 , ≥30 kg/ m 2 and percent fat ≤ 20th percentile were determined. Using the age-specific 20th percentile for percent fat (Cooper Clinic) as the criterion for being over-fat, the accuracy of BMI was assessed using sensitivity and specificity calculations. Results The means ± standard deviation of BMI and percent fat were 32 ± 6 and 25 ± 5, respectively. The proportions with a BMI ≥ 25 and ≥30 were 90% and 60%, respectively. Fifty-one percent had a per cent fat ≤ 20th percentile. The measure BMI ≥ 25 had a perfect sensitivity (1.0) and low specificity (0.19) and BMI ≥ 30 had a high sensitivity (0.89) and moderate specificity (0.69). Conclusions Although BMI ≥ 30 accurately predicted being over-fat, it misclassified large and lean firefighters. Although BMI should be used cautiously, it can identify over-fat firefighters at risk of cardiovascular disease, and its measurement is cost-effective and simple.
Abdominal pain and hemoperitoneum in the gravid patient: A case report of placenta percreta

A 24-year-old woman, G4P3 at 14 weeks gestation, presented to the ED with acute abdominal pain, hemoperitoneum, and fetal demise. Emergent laparotomy showed placenta percreta, requiring hysterotomy for delivery of the fetus and gestational sac followed by oversewing of the uterine defect. Although an uncommon occurrence, clinicians should consider placenta percreta in the gravid patient who presents with acute abdominal pain and shock.
Skew and delay minimization of high speed CMOS circuits using stochastic optimization

For certain high speed CMOS circuits, e.g. clock drivers, wave-pipelined circuits, it is very important to limit the spread in circuit delay as well as the worst-case delay. The delay spread or skew, is caused by the data-dependency of the circuit delay. To reduce the effect of process and environmental variations on skew and circuit delay, the transistors in a CMOS circuit need to be carefully sized. In this paper, we present a stochastic optimization approach to transistor sizing. Each sizing scheme considered during optimization is evaluated through accurate circuit simulations to determine the delay and skew values. The power of the optimization technique enables us to generate very good siting schemes with few simulations, as demonstrated by the example given here. >
Assessment of Genetic Diversity in Napier Grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) using Microsatellite, Single-Nucleotide Polymorphism and Insertion-Deletion Markers from Pearl Millet (Pennisetum glaucum [L.] R. Br.)

Napier grass (Pennisetum purpureum Schum.) is a well-established perennial fodder crop of African origin which recently has also drawn attention for its potential as biofuel feedstock. The absence of genome information in Napier grass limits the development of sequence-specific markers which often involves a high developmental cost. This study aimed to determine cross-species transferability of microsatellite markers between pearl millet (Pennisetum glaucum L.) and Napier grass and to assess the genetic diversity of Napier grass accessions. A total of 107 pearl millet microsatellite markers were tested of which 71 markers (66 %) showed successful cross-amplification. Only 29 markers were selected to study the genetic diversity of Napier grass accessions maintained at the US Department of Agriculture-Agriculture Research Service (USDA-ARS) Tifton, GA. A total of 108 alleles were identified among 99 accessions, a pearl millet line, and a sugarcane hybrid. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) value was 0.212 per marker, while Dice coefficient of similarity ranged from 0.50 to 1.0, indicating high genetic variability among accessions. The accessions with the lowest Dice coefficient of similarity values could be useful in breeding programs. The similarity coefficient of accessions equal to 1.00 is likely an indication of a single genotype being represented by two accessions with different names. This study provides an expanded set of microsatellite markers transferable from pearl millet to Napier grass that can be used to evaluate genetic diversity in Napier grass accessions.
Preventing Delays in First-Case Starts on the Neurosurgery Service: A Resident-Led Initiative at an Academic Institution.

Objective On-time starts for the first case of the day are critical to maintaining efficiency in operating rooms (ORs). We studied whether a resident-led initiative to ensure on-time site marking and documentation of surgical consent could lead to improved first-case start time. Design and Setting In a resident-led initiative at a large 600-bed academic hospital with 25 ORs, we aimed to complete site marking and surgical consents half an hour before the scheduled start time for all first-case neurosurgical patients. We monitored the occurrence of delayed first starts and the length of delay during our initiative, and compared these cases to neurosurgical cases 3 months before the implementation of the initiative and to first-start nonneurosurgical cases. Results In the year of the initiative, both site marking and surgical consents were completed 30 minutes before the case start in 97% of neurosurgical cases. The average delay across all first-case starts was reduced to 7.17 minutes ( N = 1271), compared with 9.67 minutes before the intervention ( N = 345). During the study period, non-neurosurgical cases were delayed on average 10.3 minutes ( N = 3592). There was a significant difference in latencies between the study period and the period before the initiative (p Conclusions Through a resident-led quality improvement program, neurosurgical trainees successfully reduced delays in first-case starts on a surgical service. Engaging physician trainees in quality improvement and enhancing OR efficiency can be successfully achieved and can have a significant clinical and financial effect.
Employee Stock Ownership and Corporate Performance in the Public Sector

This study compares the corporate performance in 1990/91 of two groups of public companies: those in which employees owned more than 5% of the company's stock, and all others. The results are not consistent with either highly positive or negative views of employee ownership. Where differences are found, they are favorable to employee ownership, especially among companies of small size. The circumstances in which employee ownership was implemented--specifically, whether it was part of a wage/benefit concession package and whether there was a takeover threat--do not appear to have had a significant effect on the 1990 performance levels or 1980-90 performance growth of the firms. Although the authors caution that the data do not permit clear tests of causality, these results are broadly consistent with those of past studies.
Environment-Controlled Tethering by Aggregation and Growth of Phosphonic Acid Monolayers on Silicon Oxide

Phosphonic acid monolayers are being considered as versatile surface modification agents due to their unique ability to attach to surfaces in different configurations, including mono-, bi-, or even tridentate arrangements. Tethering by aggregation and growth (T-BAG) of octadecylphosphonic acid (ODPA) on silicon oxide surfaces has proven to be a robust method to establish a strong chemical bond. However, it requires a long processing time (> 48 h) that is a substantial drawback for industrial applications. We demonstrate here that the humidity level during processing is the most important parameter controlling the reaction. Using in situ Fourier Transform Infrared Spectroscopy (FTIR), we first show that the initially physisorbed layer obtained upon immersion in ODPA is composed of well-ordered bilayers and only reacts with the SiO(2) surface at 140 °C. Importantly, we show that the presence of water at the interface (determined by the humidity level) greatly influences the reaction time and completion. In humid environments (relative humidity, RH > 40%), there is no reaction, while in dry environments (RH < 16%), the reaction is essentially instantaneous at 140 °C. Ab initio calculations and modeling confirm that the degree of chemical reaction with the surface OH groups depends on the chemical potential (i.e., concentration) of interfacial water molecules. These findings provide a workable modification of the traditional T-BAG method consistent with many industrial applications.
Free Market Conservatism: A Critique of Theory and Practice

(1985). Free Market Conservatism: A Critique of Theory and Practice. Journal of Economic Issues: Vol. 19, No. 3, pp. 886-889.
Clinical efficacy of sulbactam/ampicillin in pediatric infections caused by ampicillin-resistant or penicillin-resistant organisms.

Abstract Twenty-three children two months to 11 years old were treated with sulbactam/ampicillin or sulbactam/penicillin. Eleven had urinary tract infections (UTI), eight had pus-forming cervical adenitis, and four had lobar pneumonia. Pathogens were isolated from 18 patients: Escherichia coli from 10, Staphylococcus aureus from seven, and Klebsiella pneumoniae from one. All isolates were resistant to ampicillin or penicillin alone. Sulbactam (50 mg/kg per day) plus ampicillin (1:2 or 1:3 ratio) or penicillin (1:1.2 or 1:1.8 ratio) was given by intravenous bolus injection at 6-hr intervals for four to 11 days (mean duration, nine days). All pathogens were eradicated during treatment. Two patients with UTI relapsed after completion of treatment; the isolates were resistant to the combination. Clinical response was rapid and consistent with bacteriologic findings. Twenty-two of 23 children had a favorable clinical response. No systemic or local adverse effects were recorded. One child had eosinophilia and another had neutropenia at the end of treatment. Four children had slight and transient increases in hepatic transaminases. These results indicate that sulbactam/ampicillin may prove safe and effective for the treatment of non-life-threatening pediatric infections.
Expansion of USN Gas Turbine Repair Into the Intermediate Level Repair Facility

The USN gas turbine maintenance philosophy over the years has migrated from an “Upkeep by Exchange” philosophy to one that takes extensive advantage of engine modularity and the ability to repair it inplace to reduce life cycle support costs. This expansion of repair has taken place at the “Intermediate Level” of maintenance. It involves both internal engine repair aboard ship and module repair in the Intermediate Level maintenance facility. This takes maximum advantage of an aero gas turbine’s small, lightweight, internally accessible and modular design.This new direction in maintenance has been driven mainly by the extensive size of the surface Navy’s gas turbine fleet and its projected repair costs. The end result has been an increase in engine availability and a minimal escalation in removals and repair and support costs as the fleet continues to expand and age. What has been learned is that cost savings are achievable when operator level, Intermediate Level and depot level maintenance are molded together with engineering to form a unified maintenance approach vice treating each of these as separate and distinct, noncommunicative entities.Copyright © 1993 by ASME
Condition Prediction for Chemical Grouting Rehabilitation of Sewer Networks

AbstractDifferent techniques have been used to maintain and rehabilitate pipes and manholes of the sewer networks in the province of Quebec, including several trenchless rehabilitation techniques in the past two decades. In an effort to predict the future performance of trenchless rehabilitations, this paper presents condition prediction models for chemical grouting rehabilitation of both pipelines and manholes in the city of Laval, Quebec, Canada. The models were developed using regression analysis, based on gathered and analyzed closed circuit television (CCTV) inspection reports for the Laval city sewer network. Different defects in the chemical grouting rehabilitated sewer mains and manholes in this city are presented. The developed regression models are capable of predicting the structural and operational conditions; they are also utilized to generate deterioration curves over time for chemical grouting rehabilitation of sewer pipes and manholes based on basic governing factors such as pipe material ...
Effect of Soil Drought Stress on Withered Leaf Rate and Physiological Changes of Six Ornamental Grasses

The experiment was conducted to determine the response of the morphological and physiological parameters of six ornamental grass species['Ever-gold' Sella Pampasgrass(Cortaderia selloana cv.Silver Comet),Lemon Grass(Cymbopogon citratus),Japanese blood grass(Imperata cylindrical cv.Red Baron),Variegated miscanthus(Miscanthus sinensis cv.Variegatus),Zebra grass(Miscanthus sinensis cv.Zebrinus)and Gardener's garters(Phalaris arundinacea var.picta)] to drought stress in Nanjing area by measuring withered leaf rate,relative water content(RWC),leaf relative electrolytic leakage(REC),malondialdehyde(MDA) content,superoxide dismutase(SOD) activity and chlorophyll content.The results showed that the RWC and chlorophyll content of the six grass species decreased continuously;withered leaf rate,REC and MDA content of the six grass species increased continuously with the prolonging of drought stress;the SOD activity increased first and then decreased.Correlation analysis revealed that the five indexes had significant negative correlations among indexes except SOD activity,and confirmed withered leaf rate could be one of the drought indexes.Combining the morphological and physiological parameters,the drought tolerance of six species was in order: 'Ever-gold' Sella PampasgrassLemon GrassZebra grassVariegated miscanthusJapanese blood grassGardener's garters.
Emergency Department Frequent Utilization for Non-Emergent Presentments: Results from a Regional Urban Trauma Center Study

Objectives First, to test a model of the drivers of frequent emergency department utilization conceptualized as falling within predisposing, enabling, and need dimensions. Second, to extend the model to include social networks and service quality as predictors of frequent utilization. Third, to illustrate the variation in thresholds that define frequent utilization in terms of the number of emergency department encounters by the predictors within the model. Data Source Primary data collection over an eight week period within a level-1 trauma urban hospital’s emergency department. Study Design Representative randomized sample of 1,443 adult patients triaged ESI levels 4–5. Physicians and research staff interviewed patients as they received services. Relationships with the outcome variable, utilization, were tested using logistic regression to establish odds-ratios. Principal Findings 70.6 percent of patients have two or more, 48.3 percent have three or more, 25.3 percent have four or more, and 14.9 percent have five or more emergency department visits within 12 months. Factors associated with frequent utilization include gender, race, poor mental health, mental health drugs, prescription drug abuse, social networks, employment, perceptions of service quality, seriousness of condition, persistence of condition, and previous hospital admittance. Conclusions Interventions targeting associated factors will change global emergency department encounters, although the mutability varies. Policy interventions to address predisposing factors such as substance abuse or access to mental health treatment as well as interventions that speak to enabling factors such as promoting the resiliency of social networks may result in decreased frequency of emergency department utilization.
Waiting on Democracy

At their best, global governance institutions reflect a certain form of optimism. Many of the most prominent institutions, including the United Nations. World Bank, and International Monetary Fund, were created at the close of World War II to preserve peace and enhance global economic prosperity. International institutions and regimes founded in subsequent decades help regulate everything from the trade n endangered species to transnational aviation, and facilitate global responses to epidemics, climate change, and criminal activity. Taken together, global governance institutions can seem to reflect a world trying to work together toward some common good.
Moving Forward on Remote Sensing of Soil Salinity at Regional Scale

Soil salinity undermines global agriculture by reducing crop yield and impairing soil quality. Irrigation management can help control salinity levels within the soil root-zone. To best manage water and soil resources, accurate regional-scale inventories of soil salinity are needed. The past decade has seen several successful applications of soil salinity remote sensing. Two salinity remote sensing approaches exist: direct assessment based on analysis of surface soil reflectance (the most popular approach), and indirect assessment of root-zone (e.g., 0-1 m) soil salinity based on analysis of crop canopy reflectance. In this perspective paper, we call on researchers and funding agencies to pay greater attention to the indirect approach because it is better suited for surveying agriculturally important lands. A joint effort between agricultural producers, irrigation specialists, environmental scientists, and policy makers is needed to better manage saline agricultural soils, especially because of projected future water scarcity in arid and semi-arid irrigated areas. The remote sensing community should focus on providing the best tools for mapping and monitoring salinity in such areas, which are of vital relevance to global food production.
Channel Capacity and Dirty Paper Coding for Gaussian Channels with Additive and Multiplicative Interferences

This paper studies the capacity, as well as the performance of dirty paper coding (DPC) for a point to point power constrained fading channel given two-sided mixed state information on additive and multiplicative interferences. We show the optimality of DPC when perfect channel state information about fading variable is available to both transmitter and receiver, and provide multiplexing/demultiplexing based strategies to achieve capacity. By employing an adaptation of Heegard's algorithm to this channel model, we also evaluate numerically both the achievable rate of the modified DPC strategy, as well as the actual channel capacity when transmitter has imperfect side information. Numerical results demonstrate significant improvements on channel capacity, as well as increased disparity between the achievable rate using DPC and channel capacity when only one-bit feedback on channel sate information of fading variable is available to encoder. The futility of knowing the additive interference at transmitter, when the multiplicative interference is only available to the receiver, is also shown numerically.
A physics-based model for industrial steam-methane reformer optimization with non-uniform temperature field

Abstract In an industrial hydrogen production facility, steam-methane reforming reactions take place inside hundreds of catalyst-filled tubes placed in a large scale, high temperature furnace. Process efficiency depends strongly on the wall temperature distribution of the ensemble of reformer tubes; a narrower distribution has a process intensification effect, by providing similar processing experience to every feedstock molecule. Such process intensification efforts require a furnace model that can predict the temperature distribution as a function of operating conditions. Currently available furnace modeling solutions are either computationally intensive, making them unsuitable for (online) optimization calculations, or empirical, having limited accuracy when wide changes in operating conditions are required. In this work, a physics-based furnace model is presented that overcomes these limitations. Empirical perturbations in a Hottel zone radiation model are proposed to capture the spatially non-symmetrical temperature distribution. The low computational time makes the model suitable for operational intensification based on reduction of temperature distribution non-uniformity.
Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation: Financial Inclusion in Indian Country

The case features the Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC), based in Shawnee, Oklahoma. The CPCDC provides microloans, business loans, short-term consumer loans, and other financial services to underserved Native American communities. On one hand, the CPCDC is driven by a mission to deliver responsible, affordable lending and help disadvantaged Native populations join the economic mainstream. On the other hand, the organization strives to offer only financially self-sustainable products and services. In 2010, Cindy Logsdon (the CPCDC's assistant director) helped to implement the JumpStart Auto Loan program, which was to be offered to employees of tribal enterprises. Logsdon must decide whether to continue offering the JumpStart Auto Loan, which fills a market need but is one of the highest-risk products on the CPCDC's books. Excerpt UVA-ENT-0202 Jun. 16, 2014 CITIZEN POTAWATOMI COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION: FINANCIAL INCLUSION IN INDIAN COUNTRY Cindy Logsdon, assistant director at Citizen Potawatomi Community Development Corporation (CPCDC), based in Shawnee, Oklahoma, faced a dilemma. In 2010, she had helped to implement the JumpStart Auto Loan program her organization offered to employees of the Citizen Potawatomi Nation tribal enterprises. On one hand, the loan filled a need in the market the CPCDC served. As did most of the United States outside of high-density metropolitan areas, Oklahoma lacked an efficient mass transit system, and, in order to get to work, employees needed reliable cars. On the other hand, the auto loan was one of the highest-risk programs the CPCDC offered. In addition, the loan portfolio was small, and so was the income it generated. The CPCDC was a certified Native American Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI) and loan fund established in Shawnee in 2003 (Exhibit 1). It provided microloans, business loans, short-term consumer loans, credit builder loans, individual development accounts (IDAs), and small business–development services to underserved Native communities. The CPCDC served Citizen Potawatomi Nation members and employees nationwide, as well as Native American–owned businesses throughout Oklahoma. One overcast day in January 2014, Logsdon sat in her office in Shawnee, reviewing the JumpStart Auto Loan program's financial data (Exhibit 2). Over the past four years, the loan portfolio had grown by only 10 to 13 loans a year, and the average loan size was about $ 10,000. Logsdon had to ask herself whether helping 10 to 13 employees annually was worth the trouble. She recognized that, in addition to the cost of funds—which at 3.5 percentage points translated to $ 7,000 per year and about $ 3,500 per year in miscellaneous expenses—there was also the cost of paying an employee to manage the program. She wondered if the social benefit of providing affordable car loans to a relatively small group of people and the revenue generated by the portfolio were enough to offset the cost of offering the loans. . . .
Salvage Therapy Options for Local Prostate Cancer Recurrence After Primary Radiotherapy: a Literature Review

While recurrence after primary treatment of prostate cancer (PCa) is not uncommon, there is currently no consensus on the most appropriate management after radiation treatment failure. This article seeks to explore the currently utilized modalities for salvage treatment for radiorecurrent PCa. We focused our review on the oncologic outcomes and reported toxicity rates in the latest studies examining salvage radical prostatectomy (SRP), salvage cryotherapy (SCT), salvage high-intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) and re-irradiation. There does not appear to be any significant difference in overall survival for more invasive salvage radical prostatectomy compared to the minimally invasive salvage approaches. Additionally, there seems to be a trend towards lower morbidity rates associated with minimally invasive and focal salvage treatment. We are encouraged by the results presented in this review and find that there is clearly a role for emerging minimally invasive and focal therapies as durable options for salvage treatment in patients with radiorecurrent PCa.
Communicating correlated sources over a MAC

The problem of characterizing sufficient conditions for communicating correlated sources over a MAC is considered. The technique of inducing source correlation onto channel inputs [1] is enhanced by the use of fixed B-L coding [2]. The performance of the proposed coding technique is characterized via single-letter expressions to derive a new set of sufficient conditions. The latter conditions are contained within those characterized in [1], and are proven to be strictly less binding than those of the latter for certain examples.
Flipping to engage students: Instructor perspectives on flipping large enrolment courses

The purpose of this study was to investigate instructor perspectives on the implementation of flipped classrooms in large enrolment classrooms. Five instructors teaching in different disciplines – ranging from mechanical engineering to sociology – were purposefully selected to provide in-depth analysis of the process of converting a traditional course to a flipped format. The findings indicated that flipped approach broke the social code of large enrolment courses by shrinking the instructors and empowering the students. Benefits and challenges the format brings are discussed and recommendations for implementation are provided.
Locally Compact and Euclidean Spaces

Except in the examples, the set S on which the measures have been defined (more precisely, on certain subsets of which it has been defined) has been an abstract set, devoid of any special structure. In the particular case in which S has additionally the structure of a topological space, e.g., when S is euclidean space, it is natural to consider the relations between the topological and measure-theoretic features of S. For example, elementary analysis suggests that continuous functions should be measurable; this depends, however, on the existence of a suitable relationship between the measure and the topology.
Chapter 17 Some Sedimentary and Diagenetic Signatures in the Formation of Bedded Radiolarite

Abstract Widespread evidence of primary sedimentary structures in Pindos bedded radio!arite indicates that some bedding planes and surfaces existed on the sea floor subject to bioturbation and current winnowing. Other evidence from the same lithostratigraphic unit indicates a diagenetic component in the formation of bedded chert. Pressure dissolution of matrix materials is one means (besides current winnowing or current deposition) of achieving a radiolarian “packstone” texture. Ultimately pressure dissolution destroys even the resistant quartz radiolarian molds, resulting in opaque horizons of insoluble residue rich in Fe and Al. the existence of stylolites in thin sections cut parallel to bedding suggest a horizontal shear pressure at some time, most likely during alpine tectonism, which implies that stylolitization continues very late in the history of the sediment. Sili-cification of radiolarian pack- and wackestones can obscure radiolarians and other sedimentary features. In an attempt to guage the influence of associated sediment on the rate of silica diagenesis, authigenic quartz from a range of radiolarian litho-types was analyzed for oxygen teotope composition. Results show a strong correlation between light δ 18 of the quartz and high aluminum content of the sediment, where aluminum is an index of clay content.
Mobile Systems and Their Intractable Social, Ethical and Security Issues

This chapter begins by presenting rather a frightening and quickly evolving mobile telecommunication and computing technologies; their unprecedented global reach and inclusion; unparalleled social, financial, and cultural prowess; and the yet to be defined social, moral, and ethical value systems. We discuss the crucial role of the mobile operating system and survey the current mobile devises and their anchoring mobile operating systems. The discussion then settles on the main themes of the book, that is, the ethical and security issues in the mobile ecosystem. We discuss the troubling issue of the mobile ecosystem, the location-based tracking system (LTS). This technology, in three types, is troubling because it is being used by merchants, law enforcement agencies and almost everyone else who needs to know where you and your smart electronic device are. We note that while users of smart devices may not be aware, these technologies have huge ethical and privacy implications. In our discussion, we focus on the security and threat to individual privacy, for even in public places individuals deserve some privacy, resulting from the collection, aggregation, and centralization of personal information, without user consent of the user and also in the absence of applicable laws. On security issues in the ecosystem, we note that mobile devices are increasingly holding and storing more private data like personal and business and they are roaming in public spaces on public networks with limited security and cryptographic protocols to protect the data. Also because of the fact that these devices have the ability to roam on several networks, there is a wider sphere of attack beset by geographical, legal, and moral differences. We note that the penetration trend of these smart mobile devices is not limited to faraway rural places but more scaring is their rapid penetration on enterprise IT spaces where security is paramount for any device.
B-Cell Activation by Wild Type and Mutant Ig-β Cytoplasmic Domains

In B lymphocytes, the cytoplasmic domains of the membrane immunoglobulin-associated heterodimeric Ig-α and Ig-β proteins link membrane immunoglobulin to intracellular signalling molecules. We constructed chimeric genes encoding the extracellular and transmembrane domain of human CD8α and the cytoplasmic domain of Ig-α or Ig-β and examined the ability of the chimeric proteins to induce signalling in the murine B-cell lymphoma A20. Crosslinking of CD8/Ig-α or CD8/Ig-β induced both calcium mobilization and protein tyrosine phosphorylation, although induction by CD8/Ig-α was somewhat stronger. We also carried out mutagenesis of residues within the “Reth” motif of the CD8/Ig-β cytoplasmic domain and determined the effects of these mutations on signalling in the murine B-cell hybridoma LK 35.2. Mutants in which alanine was substituted for glutamine 202, threonine 205, and isoleucine 209 retained the ability to induce protein tyrosine phosphorylation and calcium mobilization. In contrast, substitution of alanine for leucine 198 abrogated these responses, suggesting a critical role for this residue in interaction with cytoplasmic signalling proteins.
Current devices used for the monitoring of injection pressure during peripheral nerve blocks

Introduction: Peripheral nerve blocks are generally safe. However, there is a small but real associated risk of needle-related complications such as nerve injury. Nerve injury has been associated w...
Preventing incremental drift away from professionalism in graduate medical education.

Professionalism is a core competency of graduate medical education programs, stipulated by the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. We identify an underappreciated challenge to professionalism in residency training, the risk of incremental drift from professionalism, and a preventive ethics response, which can occur in residency programs in countries with oversight similar to that of the Accreditation Council for Graduate Medical Education. Two major, welcome changes in graduate medical education–required duty hours and increased attending supervision–create incentives for drift from professionalism. This article analyzes these incentives based on the ethical concept of medicine as a profession, introduced into the history of medical ethics in late 18th century Britain. This concept calls for physicians to make 3 commitments: to scientific and clinical competence; to the protection and promotion of the patient’s health-related interests; and to keeping individual and group self-interest systematically secondary. Some responses of programs and residents to these incentives can undermine professionalism, creating a subtle and therefore hard-to-detect drift away from professionalism that in its worst form results in infantilization of residents. Program directors and educators should prevent this drift from professionalism by implementing practices that promote professionally responsible responses to the incentives created by required duty hours and increased attending supervision.
Diversity Initiative Effectiveness: A Typological Theory of Unintended Consequences

The purpose of diversity initiatives is to help groups that face disadvantage in society achieve better outcomes in organizations, but they do not necessarily work as intended. To advance understan...
Characterization of the proper generalized decomposition method for fixed-source diffusion problems

Abstract Reduced-order models can greatly decrease the computational time required to solve a large numerical problem. Proper Generalized Decomposition (PGD) is a relatively new solution method that builds the reduced-order basis on the fly and thus does not require an expensive learning phase. By generating a reduced-order basis in the form of a finite sum of separable functions, a multi-dimensional partial differential equation can be transformed into a set of coupled one-dimensional partial differential equations, which greatly reduces the overall degrees of freedom. To date, some preliminary work has been done to implement PGD as a neutronics solver. The PGD method has been implemented to solve one-group, two-dimensional neutron diffusion eigenvalue and time-dependent problems. The work done so far has demonstrated the viability of PGD neutronics solvers, but more research is needed to warrant the deployment of PGD for practical analysis applications. The purpose of this work is to characterize the performance of the PGD solution method over a broad range of problem specifications and demonstrate the application of several proposed methodological improvements. One-group and two-group derivations of the separated PGD equations are provided along with detailed descriptions of the solution algorithms. Several practical details are discussed, including a new algorithm for selecting the inner solver tolerances in order to avoid over-solving. PGD is found to be a robust solver, with performance only moderately influenced by the scattering ratio or whether the system is absorption dominated or diffusion dominated. Heterogeneous systems with arbitrary cross sections can be solved with PGD, although performance is affected by the separability of the cross sections. By direct comparison with a standard finite element solver, substantial time savings are observed in agreement with the theoretical linear scaling behavior with respect to mesh refinement for both one-group and two-group problems.
Helmholtz-Hodge decompositions in the nonlocal framework. Well-posedness analysis and applications

Nonlocal operators that have appeared in a variety of physical models satisfy identities and enjoy a range of properties similar to their classical counterparts. In this paper we obtain Helmholtz-Hodge type decompositions for two-point vector fields in three components that have zero nonlocal curls, zero nonlocal divergence, and a third component which is (nonlocally) curl-free and divergence-free. The results obtained incorporate different nonlocal boundary conditions, thus being applicable in a variety of settings.
Enhancing Microwave System Health Assessment Using Artificial Neural Networks

A novel method is presented for remotely assessing microwave system health using environmental monitoring sensors that employ a low-power random noise radar with artificial neural network-based machine learning processing. The method expands prior stimulated unintended radiated emission (SURE) research in [M. W. Lukacs, A. J. Zeqolari, P. J. Collins, and M. A. Temple, “ ‘RF-DNA fingerprinting’ for antenna classification,” IEEE Antennas Wireless Propag. Lett. , vol. 14, pp. 1455–1458, 2015] by adding a new hybrid expert-empirical concept-forming technique called matched filter replication (MFR), the outputs of which are used in ensemble learning. Also by comparison with baseline performance, classification improvement is demonstrated using a single iteration of MFR ensemble learning that improves antenna termination state classification by $\%C_\Delta >\text{19}\%$ . A nested ensemble learning architecture is also introduced that enables classification of truly unknown devices with no learner in the ensemble being trained. This exploits the concept of multiple iterations using the MFR process by establishing an enlarged hypothesis space that is subsequently collapsed to form a final classification decision. The new SURE architecture enables the assessment of unknown device capabilities using a network trained on selected primitive traits (in this case, reflectivity).
Peer-Based Interventions for Children and Youth With Autism Spectrum Disorder: History and Effects

Peer-mediated intervention has become a primary education practice in programs for children and youth with autism spectrum disorder (ASD). This article traces the emergence of peer-mediated interve...
Glacial erosion: status and outlook

Glacier-erosion rates range across orders of magnitude, and much of this variation cannot be attributed to basal sliding rates. Subglacial till acts as lubricating ‘fault gouge’ or ‘sawdust’, and must be removed for rapid subglacial bedrock erosion. Such erosion occurs especially where and when moulin-fed streams access the bed and are unconstrained by supercooling or other processes. Streams also may directly erode bedrock, likely with strong time-evolution. Erosion is primarily by quarrying, aided by strong fluctuations in the water system driven by variable surface melt and by subglacial earthquakes. Debris-bed friction significantly affects abrasion, quarrying and general glacier flow. Frost heave drives cirque headwall erosion as winter cold air enters bergschrunds, creating temperature gradients to drive water flow along premelted films to growing ice lenses that fracture rock, and the glacier removes the resulting blocks. Recent subglacial bedrock erosion and sediment flux are in many cases much higher than long-term averages. Over glacial cycles, evolution of glacial-valley form feeds back strongly on erosion and deposition. Most of this is poorly quantified, with parts open to argument. Glacial erosion and interactions are important to tectonic and volcanic processes as well as climate and biogeochemical fluxes, motivating vigorous research.
Art Museum Education: Facilitating Gallery Experiences: Meaning Making Through Dialogue, Cultural Contexts, and Embodiment

Art Museum Education: Facilitating Gallery Experiences, by Olga Hubard, is a meditation on the potential between works of art and audiences facilitated by dialogue. As such, this book is firmly ens...
What Is Mentalizing

Mentalizing, or one’s ability to reflect on mental states in oneself and in others, is a vital skill for existence in a social world. Thus, when the mentalizing goes awry, the consequences can be severe. Mentalization-based treatment (MBT) has been developed to target these mentalizing skills and the consequences of maladaptive mentalizing. Before discussing the specifics of this treatment, it is important to develop a thorough understanding of mentalizing. This chapter aims to provide an overview of mentalizing and its development by examining the following: (1) a brief history of the term mentalization, (2) the four dimensions of mentalizing, (3) the development of typical mentalizing, (4) the importance of parenting and attachment in mentalizing, and (5) the development of atypical mentalizing.
First-order methods for problems with O(1) functional constraints can have almost the same convergence rate as for unconstrained problems.

First-order methods (FOMs) have recently been applied and analyzed for solving problems with complicated functional constraints. Existing works show that FOMs for functional constrained problems have lower-order convergence rates than those for unconstrained problems. In particular, an FOM for a smooth strongly-convex problem can have linear convergence, while it can only converge sublinearly for a constrained problem if the projection onto the constraint set is prohibited. In this paper, we point out that the slower convergence is caused by the large number of functional constraints but not the constraints themselves. When there are only $m=O(1)$ functional constraints, we show that an FOM can have almost the same convergence rate as that for solving an unconstrained problem, even without the projection onto the feasible set. In addition, given an $\varepsilon>0$, we show that a complexity result that is better than a lower bound can be obtained, if there are only $m=o(\varepsilon^{-\frac{1}{2}})$ functional constraints. Our result is surprising but does not contradict to the existing lower complexity bound, because we focus on a specific subclass of problems. Experimental results on quadratically-constrained quadratic programs demonstrate our theory.
Pathogen-like Nanoassemblies of Covalently Linked TLR Agonists Enhance CD8 and NK Cell-Mediated Antitumor Immunity

Therapies based on Toll Like Receptor agonists (TLRa) are emerging as a promising modality for cancer immunotherapy to recruit antitumor T-cells in unresponsive immunologically "cold" tumors. Often, combinations of agonists are employed to synergistically enhance efficacy. However, low efficacy and severe toxicities deter these TLR-based therapeutics from further clinical applications. Studies have suggested that the rapid systemic diffusion of agonists to nontarget tissues is the primary cause. To address this challenge, we developed supramolecular nanotherapeutics of covalently linked TLRas for multivalent, synergistic interactions by drawing inspiration from immune recognition of pathogens. This new nanotherapeutic increased stimulation of key pro-inflammatory cytokines and remarkably enhanced CD8 and NK cell-mediated antitumor response while exhibiting ultralow off-target toxicity in an aggressive B16.F10 tumor model. Results from our studies thereby indicate that such supramolecular immune-agonist therapeutics may be further developed as a viable treatment modality for cancer immunotherapy.
Landscape of the Metaeconomics Framework and Dual Interest Theory

Adam Smith wrote two books. The first, The Theory of Moral Sentiments, focused on the moral dimension. Neoinstitutional Economics grew out of it. Based on that framing, Metaeconomics developed the proposition of a shared Other-interest. The second, On the Nature and the Causes of the Wealth of Nations, focused on the material wealth-making dimension. Neoclassical Economics grew out of it. Metaeconomics includes the proposition of Self-interest a primal driver, consistent with that tradition. The overall landscape of Other-interest and Self-interest economics is explored. It is proposed that an integration is needed, as in Self- and Other-interest. The integration is, then, across the material and moral and, on a larger scale, across Market and Government.
Abstract 138: Angiotensin Converting Enzyme (ACE) Inhibition Reverses Vasoconstriction and Impaired Dilation of Pial Collaterals During Chronic Hypertension

Introduction: Leptomeningeal anastomoses (LMAs) are pial collaterals that perfuse the penumbra and are important for stroke outcome. In the current study, we investigated mechanisms by which hypert...
The Role of FIR Emission in an Optically Pumped Multi-Line NH 3 Laser

We have observed more than 50 new laser lines in NH3 pumped by a TEA CO 2 laser operating on the R(30) 9.2 Urn transition. The new lines span the region from 9.3 μm to 13.8 μm. FIR cascade emission is responsible for energy transfer from the pumped antisymmetric to the lasing symmetric levels in the V 2 band. A novel wedged transverse pumping scheme allows efficient use of pump energy and a compact device design. Application of this laser system to isotope separation of UF 6 is discussed.