cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Solubility of Nd3+ and UO22+ in WIPP brine as oxidation-state invariant analogs for plutonium

Abstract A general status of the Waste Isolation Pilot Plant (WIPP), as it relates to plutonium chemistry and inventory, is given. We also report on the results of two redox-invariant studies, Nd3+ and UO22+, that are being investigated as analogs for Pu(III) and Pu(VI) chemistry under WIPP-relevant conditions. The WIPP repository is the only working repository for TRU waste in the world and continues to perform above expectations. Recertification of the WIPP was recently received in April 2006 and plutonium research to support these ongoing recertification activities continues. As oxidation-state analogs for plutonium, the solubility of uranium(VI) and neodymium(III) were established in long-term experiments as a function of pCH+ for two WIPP simulated brines that bracket the range in brine composition expected. The solubility of uranium(VI) measured at high pCH+ in the absence of carbonate was ∼2 × 10−7 M in ERDA-6 brine. This is almost 100 times lower than the uranium solubility published in the literature for carbon dioxide-free systems and is almost four orders of magnitude lower than current assumptions in the WIPP Performance Assessment (PA). The Nd3+ solubility determined was ∼1 × 10−7 M. There was essentially no significant effect of carbonate on the solubility measured for Nd3+. Taking into consideration experimental errors in our data, the neodymium solubilities determined in the present work are in good agreement with the solubilities calculated by WIPP PA.
Gravity-Driven Consolidation of Granular Slurries--Implications for Debris-Flow Deposition and Deposit Characteristics

ABSTRACT Fresh debris-flow deposits consolidate under their own weight. How quickly they consolidate (dissipate excess pore-fluid pressure and compact) affects their resistance to remobilization as well as their sedimentologic and stratigraphic characteristics. Here, analysis of small-volume (0.05 m3) noncohesive debris-flow slurries and larger (10 m3) experimental debris-flow deposits reveals the nature, rate, and magnitude of consolidation of typical debris-flow deposits. A simple, linear, one-dimensional model describing the diffusion of excess pore-fluid pressure satisfactorily approximates the overall timing and magnitude of consolidation of noncohesive debris-flow deposits. The model and measurements of pore-fluid pressure demonstrate that changes in fluid pressure and effective stress evolve upward from the base of a deposit, and show that hydraulic diffusivities of muddy slurries containing about 5 to 50 wt% mud are remarkably similar, about 10-6-10-7 m2/s. By comparison, sandy-gravel debris-flow deposits containing <2 wt% mud have higher hydraulic diffusivities, 10-4 m2/s. Pore-fluid seepage across a permeable basal boundary accelerates consolidation response time in the lower stratum compared to that over a no-flow boundary. However, changes in sediment fabric resulting from porosity changes alter hydraulic properties of basal debris and retard expected decay of fluid pressure immediately above the bed. This result suggests that fluid infiltration to the substrate does not contribute significantly toward debris-flow deposition. Low hydraulic diffusivities promote high and persistent pore-fluid pressure in debris flows, key factors enhancing mobilization. Elsewhere, pore-fluid pressures nearly sufficient to liquefy debris have been shown to persist through transit and deposition. Here, I show that significant dissipation of such fluid pressure is restricted to postdepositional consolidation. Therefore, neither uniform decay of excess pore-fluid pressure nor intrinsic viscoplastic yield strength explain debris-flow deposition. Instead, debris-flow deposition results from friction concentrated along flow margins where high pore-fluid pressures are absent. Sustained high pore-fluid pressure following deposition fosters deposit remobilization, which can mute or obliterate stratigraphic evidence for multiple events. A thick deposit of homogeneous, poorly sorted debris can result from mingling of soft deposits and recurrent surges rather than from a single flow wave if deposit consolidation time greatly exceeds typical sediment emplacement times.
Market Failures, Political Solutions and Corporate Environmental Responsibility

It is strange that contemporary discussions of "corporate social responsibil ity" rarely take the term "responsibility" seriously. Deference is shown to praiseworthy corporate behavior without focusing on the underlying philo sophical issue of whether there are any obligations to reinvest in communi ties, orient operations toward long term development, or protect the envi ronment. It is for this reason that I find it valuable that Denis Arnold and Keith Bustos focus their remarks on a rather basic question: should we place moral responsibility for environmental degradation on businesses even when they have lawfully participated in the marketplace? They answer this question in the affirmative for two central reasons. First, they argue that there are few political, i.e., legislative and administrative, avenues available to correct for corporate activity that adversely impacts key public goods such as air, water and health. Second, the benefits that have accrued to corporations during the last five to six decades have come at a high price, namely, the environ mental health of the planet and thereby the well-being of current and future generations. Justice demands that the benefits one receives should be proportionate to the costs imposed on others through the realization of these benefits. Corporations, thus, have duties to adjust their practices to mini mize these social costs and compensate communities for past harm.
Effect of X-irradiation on the Permeability of L-Alpha Hydroxy Acid Oxidase From Mouse Liver Peroxisomes

Mice were exposed to 800 R whole body X-irradiation at a rate of 15 R per minute. Following exposure there was an increase in the permeability of L-alpha hydroxy acid oxidase from mouse liver peroxisomes, and an increased sensitivity of the peroxisomes to low concentrations of Triton X-100, These results indicate that latency characteristics of peroxisomes from irradiated animals are altered compared to the latency characteristics of peroxisomes from control animals.
Irreversible Effects of High Frequency Ultrasound on Animal Tissue and the Related Threshold Intensities

The biological effects of ultrasound were initially recognized when the accidental observation was made that fish became paralyzed in the radiation field of the first experimental sonar transducers, in 19181. It was this observation that has apparently motivated the speculation on the use of ultrasonic waves as a therapeutic agent in medicine. Since there was, at that time, another kind of wave therapy, radiofrequency diathermy, already in use, why shouldn’t ultrasound come as an adjunct to it? Ultrasound had even an advantage over radio waves; it could be conveniently directed and accurately localized to the diseased area.
Enzymatic hydrolysis of cellulose: Evaluation of cellulase culture filtrates under use conditions

Culture filtrates from three mutant strains of Trichoderma reesei grown on lactose and on cellulose were compared under use conditions on four cellulose substrates. Cellulose culture filtrates contained five to six times as much cellulase as lactose culture filtrates. Unconcentrated cellulose culture filtrates produced up to 10% sugar solutions from 15% cellulose in 24 hours. Specific activity in enzyme assays and efficiency in saccharification tests were low for enzymes from all the mutants. Over a wide range the percent saccharification of a substrate in a given time was directly proportional to the logarithm of the ratio of initial concentrations of enzyme and substrate. As a result of this, dilute enzyme is more efficient than concentrated enzyme, but if high sugar concentrations are desired, very large quantities of enzyme are required. Since the slopes of these plots varied, the relative activity of cellulase on different substrates may be affected by enzyme concentration. (Refs. 28).
Functional Electrical Sensors as Single Component Electrically Open Circuits Having No Electrical Connections

Closed circuits have been used in electrical systems since Alessandro Volta's invention of the modern battery in 1800 made the first closed electrical circuits possible. Even though a capacitor in a circuit could be considered as an open circuit, its use requires electrical connections to a circuit. This paper reports successful measurement of fluid level using a self-resonating planar pattern of electrically conductive material that is an open-circuit single-component sans electrical connections that is wirelessly powered using external oscillating magnetic fields. The circuit responded with its own magnetic harmonic that changed monotonically with the fluid level. The same external antenna received the circuit response providing a means of interrogating the sensor. By eliminating electrical connections, there is no single point that, if damaged, prevents the circuit from being powered and interrogated, thus, eliminating a key failure mode of electrical devices. Sensors used for the initial fluid-level measurements have portions of their circuits severed from the other portions. The damaged sensors were then successfully used to measure the fluid level. Although the results for fluid-level measurement are presented herein, theoretically, many electrical devices whose functions depend on the use of electric fields, magnetic fields or resistance could be developed as open circuits. The applications are far-reaching, from safer damage-resilient self-sensing human-implanted medical sensors to applications with vehicle systems, buildings, food processing and storage, package tamper detection and other measurements that can be related to capacitance, inductance or resistance. Furthermore, this work lays the foundation for developing other electrical components that can be designed without the use of closed circuits or electrical connections.
Translational evidence that impaired autophagy contributes to arterial ageing

Ageing causes arterial endothelial dysfunction that increases the risk of cardiovascular diseases (CVD), but the underlying mechanisms are incompletely understood. The aim of the present study was to determine the role of autophagy, the cellular process of recycling damaged biomolecules, in endothelial dysfunction with ageing. In older humans, expression of autophagy markers in arterial endothelial cells was impaired by ∼50% (P <0.05) and was associated with an ∼30% (P <0.05) reduction in arterial endothelium-dependent dilatation (EDD). Similarly, in C57BL/6 control mice ageing was associated with an ∼40% decrease (P <0.05) in arterial markers of autophagy and an ∼25% reduction (P <0.05) in EDD. In both humans and mice, impaired EDD was mediated by reduced nitric oxide (NO) bioavailability and was associated with increased oxidative stress and inflammation (P <0.05). In old mice, treatment with the autophagy-enhancing agent trehalose restored expression of autophagy markers, rescued NO-mediated EDD by reducing oxidative stress, and normalized inflammatory cytokine expression. In cultured endothelial cells, inhibition of autophagy increased oxidative stress and reduced NO production, whereas trehalose enhanced NO production via an autophagy-dependent mechanism. These results provide the first evidence that autophagy is impaired with ageing in vascular tissues. Our findings also suggest that autophagy preserves arterial endothelial function by reducing oxidative stress and inflammation and increasing NO bioavailability. Autophagy-enhancing strategies may therefore have therapeutic efficacy for ameliorating age-associated arterial dysfunction and preventing CVD.
An optimal bistable controller for increased missile autopilot performance

One of the major problems in missile control is the change in missile dynamics caused by changing aerodynamic parameters. The method of control described herein possesses control capability for a wide range of aerodynamic parameters utilizing only information derived from the state variables of the system. Liapunov's second method was used to derive the form of the control signal. The analysis was based on the control of an autonomous, stable plant. However, with only a slight change in the form of the signal, it was possible to stabilize a forced unstable system. The control signal was constructed by summing the weighted states of the plant and using this to trigger a bistable amplifier. The output of the bistable amplifier was summed with the command to the system. The analysis and analog computer study used a 3rd-order linearized model of typical missile dynamics. The computer study has shown that it was possible to control this model for a wide range of aerodynamic parameters. The advantages of this controller over more sophisticated adaptive control systems that might yield similar control characteristics are its simplicity and its all-electrical nature.
Gumming Up the Works: DNA Polymers as HCV Entry Inhibitors

Infection with hepatitis C virus (HCV) is a global health concern due to the lack of effective treatments. Currently, there are no prophylactic or therapeutic vaccines, and antiviral therapies (interferon and ribavirin combinations) are associated with suboptimal response rates. Clearly, there is a need for novel HCV-specific antivirals to treat the 3–4 million new infections each year. Although many elements of HCV replication have not been fully studied, the recent ability to culture the virus in vitro has led to a better understanding of HCV replication, and has uncovered some promising new strategies for treating infection. In this issue of GASTROENTEROLOGY, Matsumura et al1 discuss amphipathic oligodeoxynucleotides as putative antivirals to inhibit entry of HCV into host cells.
Strictly positive real matrices and the Lefschetz-Kalman-Yakubovich lemma

The authors give necessary and sufficient conditions in the frequency domain for rational matrices to be strictly positive real. Based on this result, the matrix form of the Lefschetz-Kalman-Yakubovich lemma is proved, which gives necessary and sufficient conditions for strictly positive real transfer matrices in the state-space realization form. >
Identification of Ligand–Target Pairs from Combined Libraries of Small Molecules and Unpurified Protein Targets in Cell Lysates

We describe the development and validation of interaction determination using unpurified proteins (IDUP), a method that selectively amplifies DNA sequences identifying ligand+target pairs from a mixture of DNA-linked small molecules and unpurified protein targets in cell lysates. By operating in cell lysates, IDUP preserves native post-translational modifications and interactions with endogenous binding partners, thereby enabling the study of difficult-to-purify targets and increasing the potential biological relevance of detected interactions compared with methods that require purified proteins. In IDUP, target proteins are associated with DNA oligonucleotide tags either non-covalently using a DNA-linked antibody or covalently using a SNAP-tag. Ligand-target binding promotes hybridization of a self-priming hairpin that is extended by a DNA polymerase to create a DNA strand that contains sequences identifying both the target and its ligand. These sequences encoding ligand+target pairs are selectively amplified by PCR and revealed by high-throughput DNA sequencing. IDUP can respond to the effect of affinity-modulating adaptor proteins in cell lysates that would be absent in ligand screening or selection methods using a purified protein target. This capability was exemplified by the 100-fold amplification of DNA sequences encoding FRB+rapamycin or FKBP+rapamycin in samples overexpressing both FRB and FKBP (FRB·rapamycin+FKBP, Kd ≈ 100 fM; FKBP·rapamycin+FRB, Kd = 12 nM). In contrast, these sequences were amplified 10-fold less efficiently in samples overexpressing either FRB or FKBP alone (rapamycin+FKBP, Kd ≈ 0.2 nM; rapamcyin+FRB, Kd = 26 μM). Finally, IDUP was used to process a model library of DNA-linked small molecules and a model library of cell lysates expressing SNAP-target fusions combined in a single sample. In this library×library experiment, IDUP resulted in enrichment of sequences corresponding to five known ligand+target pairs ranging in binding affinity from Kd = 0.2 nM to 3.2 μM out of 67,858 possible combinations, with no false positive signals enriched to the same extent as that of any of the bona fide ligand+target pairs.
The measured and calculated affinity of methyl‐ and methoxy‐substituted benzoquinones for the QA site of bacterial reaction centers

Quinones play important roles in mitochondrial and photosynthetic energy conversion acting as intramembrane, mobile electron, and proton carriers between catalytic sites in various electron transfer proteins. They display different affinity, selectivity, functionality, and exchange dynamics in different binding sites. The computational analysis of quinone binding sheds light on the requirements for quinone affinity and specificity. The affinities of 10 oxidized, neutral benzoquinones were measured for the high affinity QA site in the detergent-solubilized Rhodobacter sphaeroides bacterial photosynthetic reaction center. Multiconformation Continuum Electrostatics was then used to calculate their relative binding free energies by grand canonical Monte Carlo sampling with a rigid protein backbone, flexible ligand, and side chain positions and protonation states. Van der Waals and torsion energies, Poisson–Boltzmann continuum electrostatics, and accessible surface area-dependent ligand–solvent interactions are considered. An initial, single cycle of GROMACS backbone optimization improves the match with experiment as do coupled-ligand and side-chain motions. The calculations match experiment with an root mean square deviation (RMSD) of 2.29 and a slope of 1.28. The affinities are dominated by favorable protein–ligand van der Waals rather than electrostatic interactions. Each quinone appears in a closely clustered set of positions. Methyl and methoxy groups move into the same positions as found for the native quinone. Difficulties putting methyls into methoxy sites are observed. Calculations using a solvent-accessible surface area–dependent implicit van der Waals interaction smoothed out small clashes, providing a better match to experiment with a RMSD of 0.77 and a slope of 0.97. Proteins 2010. © 2010 Wiley-Liss, Inc.
A study of US-based Indian and Pakistani population with cancer diagnosis reported in the SEER database from 1988 to 2002

20116 Background: Southeast Asian population comprises about 1.5% of the US population and one of the rapidly growing ethnic groups. This is the first study in US-based Indian and Pakistani patient...
Negative Correlation of Wall Thickness With Wall Blood Pressure in a Patient-Specific Atherosclerotic Coronary Artery: A Case Report

There are two major hemodynamic stresses imposed at the blood-arterial wall interface by flowing blood: the wall shear stress (WSS) acting tangentially to the wall, and the wall pressure (WP) acting vertically to the wall. These forces influence the artery wall metabolism and correspond to the local modifications of artery wall thickness, composition, microarchitecture, and compliance [2]. The role of flow wall shear stress in atherosclerosis progression has been under intensive investigation [4], while the impact of local blood pressure on plaque progression has been under-studied.© 2012 ASME
Copyright Lawmaking Authority: An (Inter)Nationalist Perspective on the Treaty Clause

This contribution to a symposium on Copyright and The Constitution considers whether the Treaty Clause provides an alternative source of copyright lawmaking authority with respect to enactments impermissible under the Copyright Clause. Existing literature suggests three paradigmatic positions on the question. First, some scholars view the Treaty Clause as conferring a power whose content is wholly subservient to the limits of the Copyright Clause. A second group of scholars sees the Treaty Clause as offering an alternative lawmaking authority, but one that is substantially limited by the internal limits of the Treaty Clause. Finally, some commentators and litigants have read the Treaty Clause as an expansive autonomous lawmaking power that is largely unconstrained by internal limits and wholly unconstrained by the external limits found in the Copyright Clause. This paper adopts none of the three paradigmatic positions. I argue that those seeking to make the Treaty Clause subservient to the Copyright Clause both overstate the constitutional weight of the Copyright Clause and underestimate the autonomous role of the Treaty Clause in the American governmental structure. By the same token, however, the argument that the Treaty Clause should operate wholly unaffected by the limits in the Copyright Clause rests on a vision of the Treaty Clause that fails to acknowledge the multitude of ways through which international law and policy influences and informs domestic American copyright law. Support for autonomous lawmaking authority under the Treaty Clause must be tempered by the contemporary political reality that international processes may simply be an inappropriate end-run around the limits of Copyright Clause authority rather than occasional operation of an independent and different political process. And because of the entanglement between domestic and international lawmaking that now characterizes the copyright lawmaking process, reliance upon the traditional internal limits of the Treaty Clause will prove largely unavailing. The only way to make the restrictions on the Treaty Clause real is to develop a jurisprudence of judicial policing that reflects both the policy values that support the autonomy of the Treaty Clause and the realities of the contemporary copyright lawmaking process. Thus, I suggest that courts faced with reviewing copyright laws reliant upon the Treaty Clause for their constitutional legitimacy examine a matrix of at least three variables: (1) the strength of the international obligation with which domestic actors seek to comply; (2) the political process by which international norms are adopted and expressed in U.S. law; and (3) the limits in the Copyright Clause that the challenged law allegedly violates.
Community College Public Health Developing a Comprehensive 2-Year Degree Program

The Healthy People 2020 initiative outlines the U.S. Department of Health’s vision for improving the health of all Americans and recognizes the ability of community colleges to aid in accomplishing this vision by providing cost-effective, comprehensive public health education. Developing a 2-year degree program in public health is not without its challenges, including ensuring that the curriculum is broad enough in scope to serve as a foundation for students’ continuing in their education and content-rich enough to train them adequately to enter the workforce with the associate degree. Here, we present the efforts to meet these challenges in the establishment of an associate of applied science degree in public health. We review the development of both the public health core curriculum and the courses designed to meet the learning outcomes of that curriculum. We present an example of an articulation agreement with a 4-year university and lay-out potential future directions of the associate program.
Abstract 188: Differentiation of Preexisting Cardiosphere-Derived Stem Cells Was Modulated by Telocyte Niche

Background: Cardiosphere-derived stem cells (CSCs) were found to be unusual pre-existing cells, comparing with other kinds of stem cells, showing the greatest cardiomyocytes differentiation potency. This study is to explore whether the microenvironment provided by telocytes can improve differentiation efficiency of CSCs. Methods and Results: The CSCs and telocytes were isolated from myocardium of SD rats. The experiment was divided into control group, T-group (CSCs co-culture with adult rat telocytes), N-group (CSCs co-culture with neonatal rat caridomyocytes). Q-PCR was used to check the change of stem cell markers and cardiomyocyte markers. Immunofluorescence was used to detect the expression of cTnI protein in each group. The expression of Isl-1 in T-group was higher than other groups at 3 days, Nanong was higher at 5d, Gata4 and cTnI were higher at 9d. There are almost no expressions of cTnI protein in control group and N-group, but higher expressions of cTnI protein in T-group. The data of PCR-array showed that the most biomarkers of stem cells increased when CSCs co-culture with telocytes for 3 days, but the most biomarkers of cardiac progenitor cells increased when CSCs co-culture with telocytes for over 9 days. Finally, the CSCs induced by telocytes (iCSCs) were injected into borders of cardiac scar tissue 1 wk after experimental infarction. The results showed a nearly normal ejection fraction (EF) in iCSCs-treated rats but a lower EF in all PBS-treated animals. Conclusion: There are bilateral regulations of the microenvironment provided by telocytes which not only maintain the stemness of CSCs at the early stage, but also improve the differentiation efficiency of CSCs at the late stage. Telocyte is an important chaperone of CSCs, and helps for repairing damaged heart muscle. This work was supported by NSFC (81330007) and 973 program of China (2012CB526600).
Executive Functioning Protects Against Stress in UAV Simulation

Increased use of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) results in a demand for suitable operators, however current selection methods may be inadequate. Transitioning to multiple UAV operation highlights ...
Romantic Struggles: The Bildungsroman and Mother-Daughter Bonding in Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John

Shortly after its publication in 1983, Jamaica Kincaid's Annie John received high praise from critics who welcomed the verve and strength of this new, black female voice. Even though reviewers differed in regard to the novel's political, cultural, and ideological themes, a clear majority of them agreed on the central importance of Kincaid's conflictual presentation of the mother-daughter relationship. And for good reason. Kincaid's involved descriptions of familial alliances generate provocative psychological interpretations. For example, in the novel's earliest full page review, Susan Kenny announces how Annie John provides "valuable insight about the complex relationship between mothers and daughters" (6). Roni Natov simply states that "Annie John is a fully developed psychological study" (1). Much of this fascination comes from the intensity, range, and paradoxical quality of Kincaid's mother-daughter bond. In particular, the psychoanalytical essays attempt to understand how Annie John, the lead character, could at the same moment both love and hate her mother with equal intensity.1 And yet, such a singular approach fails to address other pertinent issues. Even though motherchild concerns do seem to call for developmental readings, the novel's concern with self-identity also brings it into a second arena: the Bildungsroman. Of course, this "coming of age" literary convention differs significantly among nationalities and periods, but some broad characteristics do seem to cross cultural lines. A sensitive child-hero begins his life in a provincial area where he quickly perceives constraints on his "natural" development. He grows frustrated with his family, school, and friends. Finally, at a fairly early age, he leaves the repression of home for the "real" education that occurs in a sophisticated, worldly, and often urban setting.2 Annie John more or less follows this "romantic" scheme. I invoke the metaphor of romanticism here because the
Isolation and partial characterization of an epithelial cell line (RPE-F344) from the regenerating prostate of a normal adult male rat.

Isolation and partial characterization of an epithelial cell line (RPE‐F344) from the regenerating prostate of a normal adult male rat
Larval Feeding Preferences and Inducibility in the Fall Webworm, Hyphantria cunea

Hyphantria cunea Drury larvae (Lepidoptera: Arctiidae) were reared on either black cherry, Prunus serotina Ehrh., (the standard) or one of the following test species: pin cherry, Prunus pennsylvanica L., white ash, Fraxinus americana L., American elm, Ulmus americanum L., or shagbark hickory, Carya ovata (Mill.). In choice tests, black cherry-reared 5th instars showed no preference for black cherry over pin cherry or shagbark hickory, but showed a significant preference for black cherry over elm and ash. In each experiment, larval food preferences were induced on the test plant. This supports the theory that polyphagous insects are inducible.
Seismic Performance of Precast, Pretensioned, and Cast-in-Place Bridges: Shake Table Test Comparison

AbstractA new bridge system has been developed to (1) reduce on-site construction time by using precast components, (2) eliminate major earthquake damage by utilizing column rocking and confinement of the column ends with a steel tube, and (3) maintain the system functionality after a strong earthquake by minimizing residual drift through the use of pretensioned strands in the columns. Furthermore, it uses only conventional materials. This paper compares the shaking table performance of a quarter-scale, two-span bridge constructed through the use of the new system with that of a conventional cast-in-place bridge with similar geometry tested in 2005. The new bridge system was constructed in approximately 20% of the time needed for the conventional cast-in-place system. In tests, the conventional bridge suffered major concrete cracking and spalling, whereas in the new system, damage to the concrete was only cosmetic. In the conventional bridge, the longitudinal bars buckled, and both the longitudinal and sp...
The Corpus of the Continent: Embodiments of Australia in World Literature

What is the present status of imagining a continental scale for literature as it denotes something that is neither national, regional, nor global? How does a continental formation such as Australia’s invite a reframing of the national-global dichotomy so constitutive to the methodologies of world literature? Critical regionalisms, worlding, ‘planetary’ poetics, and systems-based and network analyses of culture, history, and literature all offer rich supplements to national-global thinking, as evidenced by recent developments in world literature theory. This paper turns to the category of continent as one that simultaneously conjures territorial place, geological time-scales, indigenous history, colonial projects, and postcolonial national politics and affiliations. How do these various vectors play out in making and remaking a sense of continental identity? In what ways do literary canons inflect this process? Given the function of canons as a memory discourses of a kind, how do the critical politics of memory structure a reading of Australian, African, Indo-Pakistani, European, or hemispheric American ‘continental literature’? This paper does not inventory any of these literatures but rather explores how thinking at a continental scale brings into focus particular aspects of a literary corpus: deep historical time, territorial inheritance, ghost presences of those who were here before, necropolitical violence, ecological being and nonanthropocentric relationality, and more. These aspects turn on various corporealizations or embodiments of a continent (land, canon), but they are also deeply indebted to what might be called continental corpses, that is, the dead who still walk the land, still claim their day, still await their incorporation, and still oblige us to confront the traumatic histories of the past. This paper turns to the landscape of memory, as configured in trauma theory, psychoanalytic theory, and memory studies, in order to theorize the category of continental literature as something distinct from, and certainly useful for, world literature.
Use of methotrexate in patients with psoriatic arthritis

Despite a paucity of high quality clinical data, methotrexate (MTX) remains one of the most commonly used medications in the treatment of patients with psoriatic arthritis (PsA). This report addresses mechanistic rationale, available clinical evidence, safety considerations, and a potential research agenda regarding the use of MTX in the management of PsA.
Endoscopic Antireflux Techniques: Endoluminal and Laparoscopic

Treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease with medication and antireflux maneuvers recently has seen dramatic improvement. Unfortunately, a significant number of patients still do not achieve satisfactory relief and must undergo a surgical procedure. Conventional antireflux surgery has inherent morbidity, as it requires a large abdominal or thoracic incision. This article explores the newer endoluminal and laparoscopic techniques for treatment of gastroesophageal reflux disease.
Structure and thermal biology of subterranean army ant bivouacs in tropical montane forests

Active brood-warming in army ant nests (bivouacs) is well documented for surface-dwelling Eciton burchellii and E. hamatum colonies in lowland tropical forests. However, little is known about thermoregulation by the below-ground bivouacking army ants that comprise all other species in subfamily Dorylinae. Here we report the first observations of subterranean Labidus praedator bivouacs in tropical montane and premontane conditions (Monteverde, Costa Rica), and present the first evidence for active nest warming in underground bivouacs. We measured bivouac temperatures at depth increments of 10 cm through the center of a 1565 m elevation bivouac and compared these to simultaneous measurements at the same soil depths 1 m outside the bivouac. The bivouac was actively heated to over 6 °C higher than the adjacent soil. Another bivouac showed warming of up to 3.7 °C above surface ambient. We measured critical thermal maxima (CTmax) and minima (CTmin) of L. praedator workers of a range of body sizes including callows, as well as thermal tolerances of inquiline millipedes from the bivouac. CTmax varied positively with worker body size. CTmin was lower for mature than for callow workers. Symbiotic millipedes had lower CTmax and higher CTmin than ant workers. Temperatures below the thermal tolerance ranges of symbiotic millipedes and near the bottom thermal tolerance range for callow workers were recorded in the bivouac periphery and in adjacent soil, suggesting active bivouac warming protects some members of L. praedator bivouac communities from cold-limitation at high elevations in the tropics.
Reporting Quality and Determining Benchmarks

The reporting of data regarding a facility’s quality measures is a complex one requiring excellent and effective communications to everyone involved. The methodology chosen to present and display the data can have significant impact on its interpretation and application in the clinical setting. There are a number of types of displays available including: tables, bar graphs, scatter diagrams, Pareto charts, radar charts and statistical process control charts. Each of these chart types will be explored in depth. Choosing comparators or data for bench marking is an important choice within an organization depending upon its philosophy regarding process improvement. A number of sources are available for gathering these data. The reporting of a facility’s quality of care and comparison to bench marking data will be ever more important as medicine progresses towards a system that is more focused on quality rather than quantity.
Automated view and path planning for scalable multi-object 3D scanning

Demand for high-volume 3D scanning of real objects is rapidly growing in a wide range of applications, including online retailing, quality-control for manufacturing, stop motion capture for 3D animation, and archaeological documentation and reconstruction. Although mature technologies exist for high-fidelity 3D model acquisition, deploying them at scale continues to require non-trivial manual labor. We describe a system that allows non-expert users to scan large numbers of physical objects within a reasonable amount of time, and with greater ease. Our system uses novel view- and path-planning algorithms to control a structured-light scanner mounted on a calibrated motorized positioning system. We demonstrate the ability of our prototype to safely, robustly, and automatically acquire 3D models for large collections of small objects.
Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Treatment (SMART): Designs in Bipolar Disorder Clinical Trials

In addition to an initial randomization, Sequential Multiple Assignment Randomized Treatment (SMART) methodologies allow the sequential introduction of a second randomized intervention based on a patient’s state and response during the trial. SMART designs resemble the adaptive nature of treatment selection that occurs in clinical settings. The advantages of SMART include yielding more inclusive enrollment, thereby enhancing generalizability of results. With single front end randomization, if any of the treatment options are unacceptable, the patient is excluded from the study or will choose not to enter. SMART studies focus on effectiveness both by emphasizing sustained benefit and efficacy in conjunction with tolerability, in contrast to outcomes based on single point in time assessment. The controlled design allows causal inference and eliminates unmeasured confounders associated with nonrandomized treatment decisions.
Development of a Method for the Synthesis of 4-Aryl-Functionalized 2-Azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes

A method for the synthesis of 4-substituted azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes from N-tosyl-2-azabicyclo[3.2.1]octa-3,6-diene, a versatile bicyclic heterocycle not commonly used in medicinal chemistry research, is presented. The method uses bromination, followed by Suzuki­ coupling, and subsequent reduction and deprotection. The desired 4-substituted azabicyclo[3.2.1]octanes were obtained in moderate to high yields.
Prolonged Course of Salmonella Pelvic Osteomyelitis in an Immunocompetent African American Child: A Case Report and Review of the Literature

Salmonella pelvic osteomyelitis is an uncommon manifestation of acute hematogenous osteomyelitis in children without risk factors such as hemoglobinopathies or immunodeficiency syndromes. Here we report a case of prolonged pelvic osteomyelitis in an immunocompetent child who remained culture negative and refractory to both antibiotic therapy and nonsurgical intervention for 7 months. Definitive microbiological diagnosis and treatment were only obtained after open surgical exploration with substantial debridement. We therefore recommend earlier consideration of aggressive surgical intervention in cases of pelvic osteomyelitis in which no organism is definitively implicated or symptoms continue despite prolonged courses of antibiotics, both for source control and definitive diagnosis.
“They are so much more capable than what we really allow”: Inclusive beliefs, practices, and textbook use

Abstract In this qualitative study I researched how five fifth-grade teachers’ beliefs in student capabilities influenced their curricular decision-making in daily activities with the History Alive! textbook. Students in the classrooms had reading levels 4–5 grades above and below grade level and included students with mild high-incidence disabilities. For four teachers, their strong beliefs determined what they did on a daily basis and matched the stated goals of the History Alive! textbook. For one teacher, the relationship was less clear. Three areas of beliefs emerged from observations and interviews, including: 1) beliefs about students’ capabilities in reading, 2) beliefs about students’ individual differences in learning, and 3) beliefs about students’ responsibility. Findings include when teachers believed and could articulate strong beliefs about the capability of students to read, write, and participate in collaborative activities, they designed classroom activities and assessments so that all students could learn from and participate in social studies activities. When teachers’ beliefs about student capabilities aligned with Teachers’ Curriculum Institute׳s principles for inclusive classrooms, classroom practices reflected those beliefs and textbooks supported their practices.
Reinforcement Enhancing Effects of Nicotine Via Patch and Nasal Spray

Introduction Confirming preclinical findings, nicotine in humans (via smoking) enhances reinforcement from nondrug rewards. Recent demonstration of similar effects with nicotine via e-cigarettes suggests they may also occur when using nicotine replacement therapies (NRT). Methods Effects of nicotine via NRT patch or nasal spray were assessed on responding reinforced by music, video, or monetary rewards, or for no reward (control). Nontreatment seeking smokers (N = 31) participated in three virtually identical experimental sessions, each following overnight abstinence (CO ≤ 10 ppm). In a fully within-subjects design using a double-dummy procedure, these sessions involved: (1) nicotine patch (Nicoderm 14 mg) plus placebo spray, (2) placebo patch plus nicotine spray (Nicotrol, 2 × 1 mg/trial), or (3) placebo patch plus placebo spray. Session order was counter-balanced. Results Relative to placebo, reinforced responding due to nicotine via spray or patch was greater for video reward (both p .10). Similar results for NRT spray and patch confirms preclinical findings indicating no difference between fast and slow nicotine delivery, respectively, on reinforcement enhancing effects. Withdrawal relief was unrelated to these effects of nicotine via NRT on nondrug reinforcement. Conclusions Nicotine from NRT has some reinforcement enhancing effects in humans, possibly in a manner consistent with nicotine via e-cigarettes but not tobacco smoking. Our findings could suggest differential dose-dependency of available rewards to enhanced reinforcement by nicotine. Such effects may help contribute to the efficacy of NRT for aiding smoking cessation, but more research focusing on dose-dependency of these nicotine actions is needed. Implications Acute nicotine from smoking enhances reinforced responding for nondrug sensory rewards. Yet, nonsmoked nicotine, including from NRT medications of patch and nasal spray, may act more selectively across rewards, perhaps due to lower dosing exposure. Our results suggest that nicotine via NRT enhances responding for visual (video) reward, but not from auditory (music) reward, just as in prior results using e-cigarettes. Withdrawal relief from NRT was unrelated to reinforced responding, consistent with positive (and not negative) reinforcement from this nicotine. Further research evaluating the dose-response effects of nicotine may clarify differences in enhanced reinforcement depending on the type of available reward.
A Table-Top Graphene Quantized Hall Standard

We report the performance of a quantum standard based on epitaxial graphene maintained in a 5 T table-top cryocooler system. The $v=2$ resistance plateau, with a value of ${R}_{\mathbf{K}-{90}/2}$ , is used to scale to ${1}\ \text{k}{\Omega}$ using a binary cryogenic current comparator (BCCC) bridge. The preliminary uncertainties achieved with the BCCC are like those obtained in state-of-the-art measurements using GaAs-based devices. This quantum standard requires no liquid He and can operate continuously, allowing year-round accessibility to traceable resistance measurements.
A Systematic Approach to Process Data Analytics in Pharmaceutical Manufacturing: The Data Analytics Triangle and Its Application to the Manufacturing of a Monoclonal Antibody

Abstract This chapter provides a tutorial on the effective application of process data analytics techniques to (bio)pharmaceutical processes. A methodology is proposed in which the process dataset is first interrogated to determine its characteristics in terms of extents of correlation, nonlinearity, and dynamics. The second step is select effective data analytics techniques based on the combination of the identified characteristics. Techniques can be read from a “data analytics triangle,” which has the characteristics at its vertices. This chapter also discusses the value of sparse models and the importance of thorough cross-validation when applying data analytics techniques to (bio)pharmaceutical data sets. Key points and data analytic techniques including lasso and elastic net are described and demonstrated within the context of their application to laboratory- and production-scale data for the manufacture of a monoclonal antibody. A case study illustrates best practices for learning from process data, namely, the importance of maintaining plant-wide connections in the data, implementing procedures to counteract overfitting of the models, and the potential for sparse models in (bio)pharmaceutical operations.
Energy harvesting for infrastructure sensing systems

Abstract: This chapter gives an overview of some of the fundamental design issues arising in vibration energy harvesting systems for sensing applications. We focus primarily on piezoelectric and electromagnetic transducers. Linear dynamical models for these systems are presented and discussed. Impedance matching theory is discussed, and its application to monochromatic energy harvesting is explained. Fundamental limits on power generation are presented for monochromatic disturbances, and analogous limits for stochastic disturbances are briefly presented. Passive tuning techniques are discussed, for reactive power compensation. A number of basic electronic circuits for extracting power from harvesters are described, including the standard diode bridge rectifier, DC/DC converters, and synchronized switch harvesting inductor (SSHI) circuits. Applicability and tradeoffs between these circuits are discussed. The article closes with some comments about current research trends in small-scale vibration energy harvesting.
PERIODIC SOLUTIONS OF SOME NONLINEAR INTEGRAL EQUATIONS

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses periodic solutions of some nonlinear integral equations. It presents a model involving the spread of a disease or, under different assumptions on a function, the growth of a population. Cooke and Kaplan have established the existence of a positive number β = β(f) such that equation x(t) = ∫f(s,x(s))ds has positive, Ω-periodic solutions for τ > β. The chapter presents a new global bifurcation theorem and discusses the periodic solutions of a few nonlinear integral equations. It also focuses on the uniqueness of solutions.
Learning new meanings for known words: Perturbation of original meanings and retention of new meanings

Learning a new, unrelated meaning for a known word faces competition from the word’s original meaning. Moreover, the connection of the word with its original meaning also shows a subtle form of interference, a perturbation, when tested immediately after learning. However, the long-term effects of both types of interference are unclear. The present study paired both high and low frequency words with new unrelated meanings, testing the fate of new and original meanings on three different days over one week as a function of word familiarity. The results were that learners maintained memory for new meanings of high frequency words better than the new meanings of low frequency words over one week. Following learning, meaning decisions on high frequency words that required the original meaning of the trained word were delayed relative to decisions on control words – but only when testing was immediate and the stimulus-onset asynchrony (SOA) between the trained word and its original meaning probe was 200 ms. When the SOA was 500 ms or when the test was delayed by one day or one week, no effect occurred. The findings indicate that in the learning of new meanings for known words, word familiarity benefits long-term retention of new meanings. The facilitation effect occurs along with a perturbation effect, in which the original meaning of a familiar word is made momentarily less accessible immediately after learning.
How to manage a pertussis outbreak in your practice.

A physician shares the lessons he learned after unknowingly exposing patients and staff to whooping cough.