cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Optimizing Capital Investment Decisions at Intel Corporation

Intel Corporation spends over $5 billion annually on manufacturing equipment. With increasing lead times from equipment suppliers and increasing complexity in forecasting market demand, optimizing capital investment decisions is a significant managerial challenge. In response to this challenge, we developed a capital supply chain velocity program for ordering, shipping, and installing production equipment. At the core of this velocity program is a new and additional procurement framework that enables Intel to purchase options from its equipment suppliers for a faster delivery of some equipment. The framework seamlessly combines statistical forecasting with Monte Carlo simulation and stochastic programming to determine the number of options Intel should procure and exercise, and it includes built-in scenario and sensitivity analysis capabilities to support Intel’s contract selection, options reservation, and equipment procurement decisions. The velocity program and the framework provided Intel with hundreds of millions of dollars in cost savings and at least $2 billion in revenue upside during a recent period of global economic crisis.
Nodule gas exchange and water potential response to rapid imposition of water deficit

The permeability (P) of the gaseous diffusion barrier in the nodules of soybean [Glycine max (L.) Merr.] decreases when water deficits are extended over a 7 to 10 d period. The mechanism controlling P changes is unclear, but may result from the release of water to intercellular pathways, and an associated change in the nodule water potential. The purpose of these experiments was to impose water deficit treatments rapidly in order to determine the early sequence of the responses of nodule water potential and nodule gas exchange without the complications that arise from long-term water deficit treatments. A vertical, split-root system was used to separate nodule drying effects from plant water deficits by replacing humidified air that was passed over upper root nodules in well-watered plants with dry air, or by replacing the nutrient solution that surrounded lower roots with -1.0 MPa polyethylene glycol (PEG) solution, or by a combination of the dry air and PEG treatments. The PEG treatment caused large decreases in both the components of nodule water potential and nodule relative water content, but there was no indication that these factors had immediate, direct effects on either nitrogenase activity or P. After 7 h of the PEG treatment a significant decrease in nitrogenase activity was found but no decrease in P was detected. These results indicate that changes in nitrogenase activity in response to water deficits precede decreases in P. Exposure of nodules to dry air in well-watered plants had no significant effect on either nitrogenase activity or P during the 7 h treatment.
Study on effect of charge sharing events in common-grid pixelated CdZnTe detectors

Due to the steering grid that aids the collection of electrons by the anode pixels, the common-grid pixelated CdZnTe (CZT) detectors have demonstrated better performance than simple pixel detectors. For a detailed analysis of charge sharing and weighting potential cross-talk that occurs near and underneath the gap and energy resolution degradation in common-grid CZT detectors, a detailed detector system modeling package has been developed and a related experiment using a sub-pixel interaction position estimation method has been performed. A 20×20×15 mm3 CZT crystal with an 11×11 common-grid pixel anode array with a 1.72 mm pixel pitch was modeled. The VA S UM/TAT4 chip is used for ASIC readout. Through system modeling and measurement, the energy resolution degradation and system properties of common-grid CZT detectors has been studied quantitatively.
Emergent Objects, Developing Practices: Human‐Nonhuman Interactions in a Reiki Training

Over the last three decades, sociologists have expanded the scope of sociological analysis to include nonhuman objects. We build on these works to address the role of nonhuman, nonphysical objects in social interaction. Through participant observation at a Reiki training course, we examine how students learned to identify, experience, and meaningfully interact with Reiki energy, a nonhuman, nonphysical object. We show how Reiki energy emerged as a significant interactant through the following processes: participants in the class historicized Reiki; they defined the capacities and consequences of Reiki; and they learned to detect Reiki energy's apparent presence in their bodies. We then show how Reiki energy resisted the initial definitions and expectations of it, leading participants to redefine the energy's qualities and develop new practices to accommodate its emerging capacities. These findings support theoretical claims about humans' ability to “do mind” for nonhuman objects and the temporally emergent qualities of material agency.
Nonlinear Temperature Dependence of Resonant Pump Wavelengths in Optical Pumping Injection Cavity Lasers

Type-II W optical pumping injection cavity lasers emitting ~3 μm at room temperature are pumped resonantly by tuning with an optical parametric oscillator. The resonance pump wavelength consistently is found to vary quadratically with temperature. Linear corrections to the lattice constant and index of refraction with temperature do not adequately account for this trend. Using multilayer reflectivity modeling, this nonlinear temperature dependence is attributed to gain-induced changes in the refractive index of the active region and spacer layers that result from the increase in optical pumping intensity with increasing temperature.
Theoretical estimates of quark production cross-sections at ultrahigh energies

We discuss various theoretical models for the production of quarks at ultrahigh energy. In particular, a well-defined temperature model (suggested by Yang sometime back) is used to illustrate the type of production cross section expected in this picture for a given quark mass and c.m. energy.
Conductance Asymmetry of Graphene p-n Junction

We use the nonequilibrium Green function method in the ballistic limit to provide a quantitative description of the conductance of graphene p-n junctions - an important building block for graphene electronics devices. In this paper, recent experiments on graphene junctions are explained by a ballistic transport model, but only if the finite junction transition width D w is accounted for. In particular, the experimentally observed anomalous increase in the resistance asymmetry between n-n and n-p junctions under low source/drain charge density conditions is also quantitatively captured by our model. In light of the requirement for sharp junctions in applications such as electron focusing, we also examine the p-n junction conductance in the regime where D w is small and find that wave-function mismatch (so-called pseudospin) plays a major role in sharp p-n junctions.
Competing online viewpoints and models of chronic illness

People with chronic health problems use online resources to understand and manage their condition, but many such resources can present competing and confusing viewpoints. We surveyed and interviewed with people experiencing prolonged symptoms after a Lyme disease diagnosis. We explore how competing viewpoints in online content affect participants' understanding of their disease. Our results illustrate how chronically ill people search for information and support, and work to help others over time. Participant identity and beliefs about their illness evolved, and this led many to take on new roles, creating content and advising others who were sick. What we learned about online content creation suggests a need for designs that support this journey and engage with complex issues surrounding online health resources.
Clonal Tests of Conventional Kinesin Function during Cell Proliferation and Differentiation

Null mutations in the Drosophila Kinesin heavy chain gene (Khc), which are lethal during the second larval instar, have shown that conventional kinesin is critical for fast axonal transport in neurons, but its functions elsewhere are uncertain. To test other tissues, single imaginal cells in young larvae were rendered null for Khc by mitotic recombination. Surprisingly, the null cells produced large clones of adult tissue. The rates of cell proliferation were not reduced, indicating that conventional kinesin is not essential for cell growth or division. This suggests that in undifferentiated cells vesicle transport from the Golgi to either the endoplasmic reticulum or the plasma membrane can proceed at normal rates without conventional kinesin. In adult eye clones produced by null founder cells, there were some defects in differentiation that caused mild ultrastructural changes, but they were not consistent with serious problems in the positioning or transport of endoplasmic reticulum, mitochondria, or vesicles. In contrast, defective cuticle deposition by highly elongated Khc null bristle shafts suggests that conventional kinesin is critical for proper secretory vesicle transport in some cell types, particularly ones that must build and maintain long cytoplasmic extensions. The ubiquity and evolutionary conservation of kinesin heavy chain argue for functions in all cells. We suggest interphase organelle movements away from the cell center are driven by multilayered transport mechanisms; that is, individual organelles can use kinesin-related proteins and myosins, as well as conventional kinesin, to move toward the cell periphery. In this case, other motors can compensate for the loss of conventional kinesin except in cells that have extremely long transport tracks.
Letter From the Chair (ACCWS)

Dear Fellows, The second issue of our journal has been published, and I hope that you enjoyed reading it. We are proud of our accomplishment and look forward to the next step toward our ultimate goal of having a highly ranked, indexed journal. Your comments and feedback are appreciated. We look forward to your participation in this process of making your journal the premier journal on wound care. Our regional directors' program continues to grow. In the last month, the California chapter has held a successful meeting at the University of Southern California, and the Wisconsin chapter held a meeting in Milwaukee with more than 35 participants. The Ohio chapter held its sixth meeting, with more than 30 participants. The Education Committee of the College is in the final stage of finalizing the application for recognizing Wound Centers of Excellence. These centers must meet certain standards in wound care determined by the College. The application should be available in the near future. We will keep you updated through our Web page and newsletter. The Physician Examination Committee of the American Academy of Wound Management has completed the examination review, and the first examination on wound care for physicians will be administered this year. The new title will be Certified Wound Specialist Physician. The goal is to elevate the standard in wound care among physician wound care providers to ultimately improve patient care and safety. We are proud to announce our nomination of Garet Mulder, DPM, as the college honorary fellow of this academic year. Dr. Mulder is a professor in surgery and trauma at the University of California, San Diego. His contributions to wound care, both clinical and research, are well recognized in the wound care community. Our upcoming membership meeting will be held in conjunction with the Clinical Symposium on Advances in Skin and Wound Care in San Antonio, Texas, this October. I encourage you to attend the meeting to meet your colleagues and show your support to the College. Finally, volunteers are needed to serve on the College committees. If you think that you have the time and knowledge to serve your College, please contact David Abts (dabts@amsnavista.com). Enjoy the summer and be safe. Sincerely,
A hardware in the loop simulation platform for vision-based control of unmanned air vehicles

Design and testing of control algorithms for unmanned air vehicles (UAV’s) is difficult due to the delicate and expensive nature of UAV systems, the risk of damage to property during testing, and government regulations. This necessitates extensive simulation of controllers to ensure stability and performance. However, simulations cannot capture all aspects of a flight control, such as sensor noise and actuator lag. For these reasons, hardware in the loop simulation (HILS) platforms are used. In this paper, a novel HILS platform is presented for vision-based control of UAV’s. This HILS platform consists of virtual reality software to produce realistic scenes projected onto a screen and viewed by a camera. Flight hardware includes an UAV with onboard autopilot interfaced to the virtual reality software. This UAV can be mounted in a wind tunnel, allowing attitude regulation through servoing the airfoils.
Moral-Emotional Responsiveness: A Two-Factor Domain of Conscience Functioning

ABSTRACT Objective The purpose of this study was to assess the progression in development of moral-emotional responsiveness in children and adolescents and to examine the relationship of this progression with previously identified stages of conceptualization of conscience. Method Using three semistructured questions from the Stilwell Conscience Interview, 132 normal volunteers between the ages of 5 and 17 years were assessed regarding comprehension of their emotional responses to moral stimuli. Results Rational analysis of the responses identified six items; each item was scaled for complexity into five stages. Factor analysis of the six items revealed two factors: moral-emotional responsiveness 1 contained items relating to external anxiety, internal anxiety, and mood; more-emotional responsiveness 2 contained items relating to the restoration of psychophysiological equilibrium through the processes of reparation and healing. Differences between conceptualization stages, with the moral-emotional responsiveness factors serving as dependent variables, were accounted for by stage differences in age and the positive correlations between the moral-emotional responsiveness factors and age. Conclusions Moral-emotional responsiveness is a two-factor domain of the conscience. The findings provide additional developmental guidelines for assessing conscience development and functioning both in clinical practice and in research.
The proportion of reticulocytes in the erythrocytes of the spleen as compared with those of circulating blood, with special reference to hemolytic states.

1. Comparative studies of reticulocyte percentages have been made on the spleens of normal dogs, dogs with phenylhydrazine hemolytic disease, and human cases of hemolytic jaundice. Splenic artery and vein blood has been compared in some of these, both before and after adrenalin. 2. No significant differences were found, as between peripheral, splenic arterial and venous blood, with or without the use of adrenalin. 3. Imprint and "squeeze" preparations of splenic parenchyma consistently gave higher percentages ranging from 1.5 to 3.5 times the peripheral values, the most marked differences being noted in the normal dog (11.5 to 27 x). 4. The possible significance of these findings is discussed.
Regulation of Blood Pressure, Appetite, and Glucose by Leptin After Inactivation of Insulin Receptor Substrate 2 Signaling in the Entire Brain or in Proopiomelanocortin Neurons

Insulin receptor substrate 2 (IRS2) is one of the 3 major leptin receptor signaling pathways, but its role in mediating the chronic effects of leptin on blood pressure, food intake, and glucose regulation is unclear. We tested whether genetic inactivation of IRS2 in the entire brain (IRS2/Nestin-cre mice) or specifically in proopiomelanocortin (POMC) neurons (IRS2/POMC-cre mice) attenuates the chronic cardiovascular, metabolic, and antidiabetic effects of leptin. Mice were instrumented with telemetry probes for measurement of blood pressure and heart rate and with venous catheters for intravenous infusions. After a 5-day control period, mice received leptin infusion (2 μg/kg per minute) for 7 days. Compared with control IRS2(flox/flox) mice, IRS2/POMC-cre mice had similar body weight and food intake (33±1 versus 35±1 g and 3.6±0.5 versus 3.8±0.2 g per day) but higher mean arterial pressure (MAP) and heart rate (110±2 versus 102±2 mm Hg and 641±9 versus 616±5 bpm). IRS2/Nestin-cre mice were heavier (38±2 g), slightly hyperphagic (4.5±1.0 g per day), and had higher MAP and heart rate (108±2 mm Hg and 659±9 bpm) compared with control mice. Leptin infusion gradually increased MAP despite decreasing food intake by 31% in IRS2(flox/flox) and in Nestin-cre control mice. In contrast, leptin infusion did not change MAP in IRS2/Nestin-cre or IRS2/POMC-cre mice. The anorexic and antidiabetic effects of leptin, however, were similar in all 3 groups. These results indicate that IRS2 signaling in the central nervous system, and particularly in POMC neurons, is essential for the chronic actions of leptin to raise MAP but not for its anorexic or antidiabetic effects.
Ameloblastin, an Extracellular Matrix Protein, Affects Long Bone Growth and Mineralization

Matrix molecules such as the enamel-related calcium-binding phosphoprotein ameloblastin (AMBN) are expressed in multiple tissues, including teeth, bones, and cartilage. Here we have asked whether AMBN is of functional importance for timely long bone development and, if so, how it exerts its function related to osteogenesis. Adolescent AMBN-deficient mice (AMBN(Δ5-6) ) suffered from a 33% to 38% reduction in femur length and an 8.4% shorter trunk spinal column when compared with WT controls, whereas there was no difference between adult animals. On a cellular level, AMBN truncation resulted in a shortened growth plate and a 41% to 49% reduction in the number of proliferating tibia chondrocytes and osteoblasts. Bone marrow stromal cells (BMSCs) isolated from AMBN mutant mice displayed defects in proliferation and differentiation potential as well as cytoskeleton organization. Osteogenesis-related growth factors, such as insulin-like growth factor 1 (IGF1) and BMP7, were also significantly (46% to 73%) reduced in AMBN-deficient BMSCs. Addition of exogenous AMBN restored cytoskeleton structures in AMBN mutant BMSCs and resulted in a dramatic 400% to 600% increase in BMP2, BMP7, and Col1A expression. Block of RhoA diminished the effect of AMBN on osteogenic growth factor and matrix protein gene expression. Addition of exogenous BMP7 and IGF1 rescued the proliferation and differentiation potential of AMBN-deficient BMSCs. Confirming the effects of AMBN on long bone growth, back-crossing of mutant mice with full-length AMBN overexpressors resulted in a complete rescue of AMBN(Δ5-6) bone defects. Together, these data indicate that AMBN affects extracellular matrix production and cell adhesion properties in the long bone growth plate, resulting in altered cytoskeletal dynamics, increased osteogenesis-related gene expression, as well as osteoblast and chondrocyte proliferation. We propose that AMBN facilitates rapid long bone growth and an important growth spurt during the skeletogenesis of adolescent tooth-bearing vertebrates. © 2016 American Society for Bone and Mineral Research.
Densitometric quantitation of high resolution agarose gel protein electrophoresis

The authors developed a cost-effective procedure for high-resolution protein electrophoresis in agarose gel which results in electrophoretic patterns that can be both visually interpreted and densitometrically quantitated. Unique features include the development of special molds for the preparation of several gels simultaneously and the combination of chemical with densitometric procedures to accurately quantitate the protein fractions in both normal and pathologic sera. Since the albumin concentrations obtained by densitometric scan of either cellulose acetate or agarose gel were erratic with respect to colorimetric (ACA) or immunochemical (ICS) measurements, the authors incorporated colorimetric measurements of albumin and total protein with densitometric quantitation of the electrophoretic bands into an algorithm for calculating protein concentrations. The densitometric quantitation of the gamma globulin fractions compared well with the sum of the immunochemically determined IgG and IgM concentrations (r = 0.98). Alpha and beta globulins were calculated using mathematically adjusted densitometric scan percentages and the total alpha and beta globulin protein concentration. The agarose gel procedure was more sensitive than cellulose acetate in the detection of paraprotein bands in a comparison of 93 sera containing paraproteins.
The Threat to Civil Liberties

Much to the disappointment of Obama’s supporters, a number of Bush era practices infringing on civil liberties have been retained by the Obama presidency and threaten to become permanent limitations on individual liberties during the endless war on terror.
Mechanical Deformation in Metallic Liquids and Glasses: From Atomic Bond-Breaking to Avalanches

The atomistic mechanism of deformation in metallic liquids and glasses is discussed from the view point of local topology of atomic connectivity, based mainly on the results of computer simulation. In crystals the topology of atomic connectivity network is fixed, and deviation from it defines lattice defects. In liquids and glasses, however, the topology is open and flexible, and fluctuates in time and space. We focus on the action of atomic bond being cut or formed, which changes the local topology of atomic connectivity, and discuss how the bond cutting and forming determine viscosity of liquids. We then discuss how collectivity of such actions, including shear-transformation-zone (STZ) and their avalanche, governs the macroscopic deformation behavior in supercooled liquids and glasses . The collectivity of topological change is directly connected to the local potential energy landscape (PEL), particularly the density of the local minima in PEL. The density of PEL minima defines the effective temperature, and is influenced by processing conditions, such as cooling rate through the glass transition. The description of the structure and dynamics of liquids and glasses through local topology of atomic connectivity and the atomic-level stress could advance the field to the level the current mean-field approach would not be able to attain.
An ensemble-based Cox proportional hazards regression framework for predicting survival in metastatic castration-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients

From March through August 2015, nearly 60 teams from around the world participated in the Prostate Cancer Dream Challenge (PCDC). Participating teams were faced with the task of developing prediction models for patient survival and treatment discontinuation using baseline clinical variables collected on metastatic castrate-resistant prostate cancer (mCRPC) patients in the comparator arm of four phase III clinical trials. In total, over 2,000 mCRPC patients treated with first-line docetaxel comprised the training and testing data sets used in this challenge. In this paper we describe: (a) the sub-challenges comprising the PCDC, (b) the statistical metrics used to benchmark prediction performance, (c) our analytical approach, and finally (d) our team’s overall performance in this challenge. Specifically, we discuss our curated, ad-hoc, feature selection (CAFS) strategy for identifying clinically important risk-predictors, the ensemble-based Cox proportional hazards regression framework used in our final submission, and the adaptation of our modeling framework based on the results from the intermittent leaderboard rounds. Strong predictors of patient survival were successfully identified utilizing our model building approach. Several of the identified predictors were new features created by our team via strategically merging collections of weak predictors. In each of the three intermittent leaderboard rounds, our prediction models scored among the top four models across all participating teams and our final submission ranked 9 th place overall with an integrated area under the curve (iAUC) of 0.7711 computed in an independent test set. While the prediction performance of teams placing between 2 nd - 10 th (iAUC: 0.7710-0.7789) was better than the current gold-standard prediction model for prostate cancer survival, the top-performing team, FIMM-UTU significantly outperformed all other contestants with an iAUC of 0.7915. In summary, our ensemble-based Cox regression framework with CAFS resulted in strong overall performance for predicting prostate cancer survival and represents a promising approach for future prediction problems.
Grammar-aware Parallelization for Scalable XPath Querying

Semi-structured data emerge in many domains, especially in web analytics and business intelligence. However, querying such data is inherently sequential due to the nested structure of input data. Existing solutions pessimistically enumerate all execution paths to circumvent dependencies, yielding sub-optimal performance and limited scalability. This paper presents GAP, a parallelization scheme that, for the first time, leverages the grammar of the input data to boost the parallelization efficiency. GAP leverages static analysis to infer feasible execution paths for specific con- texts based on the grammar of the semi-structured data. It can eliminate unnecessary paths without compromising the correctness. In the absence of a pre-defined grammar, GAP switches into a speculative execution mode and takes potentially incomplete grammar extracted either from prior inputs. Together, the dual-mode GAP reduces the execution paths from all paths to a minimum, therefore maximizing the parallelization efficiency and scalability. The benefits of path elimination go beyond reducing extra computation -- it also enables the use of more efficient data structures, which further improves the efficiency. An evaluation on a large set of standard benchmarks with diverse queries shows that GAP yields significant efficiency increase and boosts the speedup of the state-of-the-art from 2.9X to 17.6X on a 20-core ma- chine for a set of 200 queries.
The ICADS expert design advisor: concepts and directions

The CAD Research Unit of the Design Institute at Cal Poly is engaged in a long term development of an Intelligent Computer Aided Design System (ICADS). Central to this work is the philosophy that the system should be a valuable assistant to the designer throughout the entire design activity. The current working ICADS prototype is a distributive system that can run with a variety of hardware processors in a Unix environment. It includes an Expert Design Advisor that has six knowledge based systems working as domain experts, a blackboard coordination expert, two knowledge bases and several sources of reference data. The Expert Design Advisor in the prototype interprets a drawing as it is being made by a designer working in a CAD environment. It reacts in real-time to monitor the evolving floorplan from the viewpoints of experts in the domains of Access, Climate, Cost, Lighting, Sound, and Structure. The system also provides for additional interaction with the designer outside the CAD system to help realize a resultant design that is free from conflicts in the six areas listed.
An optimal vendor-buyer cooperative policy under generalized lead-time distribution with penalty cost for delivery lateness

Abstract This paper presents an integrated inventory model for a single-vendor and single-buyer where lead-time is a stochastic variable with general distribution function. The vendor delivers goods at a fixed lot size to the buyer who has a constant demand rate. Storage is permitted on both parties, but a penalty cost is assessed when the vendor delivers the shipment late beyond a threshold time. The problem is formulated as a nonlinear cost model which needs to be minimized to arrive at an optimal policy for reorder point, order quantity, and number of shipments from the vendor to buyer, to cooperatively operate the joint contract. The solution procedure involves both closed form solution and iterative search procedure for this multi-dimensional problem. Numerical examples are presented for uniform, exponential and normally distributed lead-time s to demonstrate the solution methodology as well as a precursor test for special cases. The model presented here are applicable for numerous two-stage supply chain systems including retail businesses, assembly and production houses, where two parties of the supply chain are tied to their common goal of achieving minimum total cost of inventory operation.
The Response Before the Global Response

While the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) organized its first Task Force on what came to be known as acquired immune deficiency syndrome (AIDS) shortly after the first cases were reported in the United States in 1981, it took the World Health Organization (WHO) 2 years to initiate surveillance activities, and until 1985 to seriously engage in efforts against the disease. This chapter explores the reasons behind this delay, and the efforts made by researchers and institutions to explore the emerging pandemic in Africa and other low- and middle-income countries. One of these projects was the joint United States/Belgian Projet SIDA undertaken in what was then Zaire under the leadership of Jonathan Mann, which uncovered some of the most important early knowledge about the epidemiology and transmission of HIV in sub-Saharan Africa.
Top-Down Control of Perceptual Decision Making by the Prefrontal Cortex:

Although most work on perceptual decision making has focused on the processing within the visual, temporal, and parietal lobes, recent research points to an underappreciated but critical role of the prefrontal cortex (PFC). PFC provides high-level control of perception, but it is unclear whether this control can be subdivided into different processes and whether different PFC regions have different roles. Here I review evidence that prefrontal top-down control is organized in the processes of selection control, decision control, and evaluation. These three processes overlap and interact with each other while at the same time maintaining a temporal hierarchy. Further, these different stages are supported by dissociable regions within the PFC that control hierarchically organized cognition. The current proposal for PFC’s role in perceptual control can serve as the basis for a deeper understanding of both the functional organization of PFC and the processes underlying perceptual decision making.
Posology for Regenerative Therapy.

> Sola dosis facit venenum (The dosage makes it either a poison or a remedy) > > —Paracelsus (1493–1541) The science of dosage or posology (from Greek posos, how much, and logos, study) is a branch of pharmacology and therapeutics concerned with treatment dosage and dosage regimen. Establishing optimum dosage underpins every clinical development plan for novel therapeutic candidates. Failure to select the adequate drug dose is a leading culprit for regulatory delays or denial of initial applications for new drugs and, more generally, inadequate dose selection contributes to the high attrition rate of pivotal clinical trials.1 Article, see p 1279 Regulatory agencies are committed to facilitate the development and ultimate licensure of safe and effective regenerative therapies.2 To this end, dedicated programs applicable to stem cell therapies have been designed to expedite the advancement and approval of new products (eg, breakthrough therapy designation, accelerated approval).3 However, with limited grasp on the disposition (pharmacokinetics) and action (pharmacodynamics) of stem cells, posology applied to the development of cardiovascular regenerative therapies is still a nascent area of investigation. Without the establishment of standardized dose regimens, clinical trials continue to evaluate wide dose ranges.4 A case in point are clinical studies that have shown rather paradoxical results about the relationship between the stem cell dose and clinical benefit in the setting of heart disease.5 Accordingly, scientific, regulatory and medical communities remain challenged with critical gaps …
Heat Transfer from A Surface Covered with Hair

Under certain conditions, the heat transfer rate from a surface covered with hair is due to two competing effects: i) the heat transfer to the slowed air flow, through the bare portions of the skin, and ii) the heat transfer through all the hair strands, which act as fins. One result of this competition is the existence of an optimum hair strand diameter for minimum overall heat transfer. In forced convection, the optimum hair strand diameter increases as the length of the skin surface, raised to the power 1/2. In natural convection, the optimum diameter is proportional to the height of the skin surface raised to the power 1/4. These trends agree qualitatively with measurements of the hair sizes of various mammals.
Researching and Teaching African Media Studies from the “Center”: Challenges and Opportunities for Epistemic Resistance

Following global patterns of inequalities in academic knowledge production, a substantial part of research in African media studies has been conducted by researchers from outside the continent and/or based in the West. This situation raises significant political and moral questions about conducting research in an unequal world: who benefits from this research? Do these researchers have particular kinds of moral and political responsibilities? At what point does knowledge production becomes knowledge extraction, if not exploitation? These questions are particularly relevant for the field of African media studies, which has an epistemological affiliation with postcolonial theory and, therefore, with resistance to systems of knowledge inherited from the colonial era.This chapter identifies challenges and opportunities for the development of research and teaching in African Media Studies from the vantage point of the academic “centre” of global knowledge production. I start by reviewing the matrix of power in which Western-based researchers are entangled, with a particular focus on media and communication studies. In the second part, I draw on the implications of this positionality to identify key challenges in carrying research. The final part turns to the practice of teaching African media studies in the West in relation to those challenges. I put forward several ideas for educators to develop curricula that acknowledge and disrupt those dynamics––ultimately, engaging with what it means to contribute to epistemic resistance from a distance.
Electrophysiological correlates of categorical perception of lexical tones by English learners of Mandarin Chinese: an ERP study

This study examines brain responses to boundary effects with respect to Mandarin lexical tone continua for three groups of adult listeners: (1) native English speakers who took advanced Mandarin courses; (2) naive English speakers; and (3) native Mandarin speakers. A cross-boundary tone pair and a within-category tone pair derived from tonal contrasts (Mandarin Tone 1/Tone 4; Tone 2/Tone 3) with equal physical/acoustical distance were used in an auditory oddball paradigm. For native Mandarin speakers, the cross-category deviant elicited a larger MMN over left hemisphere sensors and larger P300 responses over both hemispheres relative to within-category deviants, suggesting categorical perception of tones at both pre-attentive and attentional stages of processing. In contrast, native English speakers and Mandarin learners did not demonstrate categorical effects. However, learners of Mandarin showed larger P300 responses than the other two groups, suggesting heightened sensitivity to tones and possibly greater attentional resource allocation to tone identification.
D. W. Winnicott, transitional objects, and the importance of materialization for religious belief

Idols, icons and religious images have had an enormous influence on the spiritual and religious lives of individuals and communities for millennia. This paper explores aspects of this attraction fr...
Use of an Electroacoustic Measurement Model for Ultrasonic Transducer Characterization

Ultrasonic transducers are electromechanical devices that covert electrical inputs (voltage, current) into mechanical outputs (force, velocity) and vice-versa. To completely characterize the relationship between these four parameters in general requires knowledge of all the elements of a 2×2 complex-valued “transduction” matrix as a function of frequency. In the literature it has typically been assumed that to obtain all the elements of this transduction matrix it is necessary to perform a combination of both electrical and mechanical measurements (see Sachse and Hsu [1], for example), which makes such a complete characterization rather difficult and expensive. Here, we will show that, by using an electroacoustic measurement model that completely characterizes an entire ultrasonic measurement system, it is possible in principle to set up a practical measurement method where the complete transduction matrix can be obtained by purely electrical measurements at the electrical port of the transducer. Having a practical procedure to completely characterize an ultrasonic transducer is important since it will allow one to make quantitative estimates of the influence of the transducer properties on an ultrasonic measurement process.
Assay for glutamine synthetase activity (Short Communication)

The use of phosphoenolpyruvate plus pyruvate kinase as an ATP-generating system in the assay for glutamine synthetase activity via the formation of γ-glutamylhydroxamate from glutamate and hydroxylamine with crude tissue preparations is shown to give values far in excess of the true glutamine synthetase activity of the tissue. This is due to the generation of pyruvate, which reacts with hydroxylamine to give a compound that is chromogenic with the ferric chloride reagent used for measuring γ-glutamylhydroxamate.
A Study of the Mössbauer Effect for Gold

In the study of metals and alloys through the use of the Mossbauer effect, gold is of particular interest, for it is the only Mossbauer element which is a noble metal. It would be naive to suppose that any metallic system is simple. Yet, among the transition elements, the noble metals, pure or in alloys, may be the ones that can be discussed in terms of available theory with greatest reliability.
The Growing Venezuelan Diaspora in the United States

Venezuelans were once considered one of the happiest people in the world (World Happiness Report 2017, https://s3.amazonaws.com/happiness-report/2017/HR17.pdf, 2017). However, this changed recently as the country has started to endure one of its worst crises since it became a country in 1811 (Crude nation: How oil riches ruined Venezuela. University of Nebraska Press, 2016; Salas, Latin American Perspectives, 32(2), 72–91, 2015). Rampant sociopolitical tension, economic decay, scarcity, and violence led two million Venezuelans to migrate in the past couple of decades, forming an expansive diaspora (Amid economic crisis and political turmoil, Venezuelans form a new exodus, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/amid-economic-crisis-and-political-turmoil-venezuelans-form-new-exodus, 2017). The United States remains a top destination for Venezuelans, who immigrate seeking refuge as well as via family-unification and employment sponsorship channels (South American immigrants in the United States, https://www.migrationpolicy.org/article/south-american-immigrants-united-states, 2016). Venezuelans make up 5% of U.S. Latinxs, with a highly educated population of 321,000 concentrated mostly in the Southeast of the country (How the U.S. Hispanic population is changing, http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2017/09/18/how-the-u-s-hispanic-population-is-changing/, 2017). This chapter provides a data-grounded introduction to this immigrant community with a brief historical background, demographics, and migration patterns. An overview of the post-migration era highlights prevalent challenges, the role of cultural values, and effective strategies in providing services to this unique U.S. Latinx population.
The effects on intraregional agricultural trade of ending NAFTA's market access provisions

This paper explores the possible effects on agriculture of ending the market access provisions of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA). This paper considers two hypothetical scenarios: one revolving around a fallback to most‐favored‐nation (MFN) tariff rates and the other considering the additional effect of increased transaction costs in intraregional trade. Results from a computable general equilibrium model indicate that applying MFN tariff rates to U.S.–Canada and U.S.–Mexico agricultural trade would lead to a 14.43% reduction in these trade flows, while a scenario also featuring higher transaction costs would bring an even larger reduction (21.25%). In both scenarios, almost every agricultural product experiences a reduction in bilateral trade, with U.S. agricultural exports to Mexico undergoing some of the largest proportionate decreases. Many sectors within North American agriculture would have lower output, including fruit and nuts, vegetables, oilseeds and vegetable oils, and processed foods in Canada; fruit, vegetables, and beef in Mexico; and poultry meat, pork, beef, and dairy products in the United States. Cet article explore les effets possibles sur l'agriculture de la fin des dispositions relatives a l'acces aux marches de l'Accord de libre‐echange nord‐americain (ALENA). L'article examine deux scenarios hypothetiques: l'un s'articule autour d'un repli sur les taux de droits de la nation la plus favorisee (NPF) et l'autre, prend en compte l'effet supplementaire de l'augmentation des couts de transaction dans les echanges intraregionaux. Les resultats d'un modele d’equilibre general calculable indiquent que l'application des taux de droits NPF au commerce agricole Etats‐Unis‐Canada et Etats‐Unis‐Mexique entrainerait une reduction de 14,43% des flux commerciaux, tandis qu'un scenario comportant des couts de transaction plus eleves indique une reduction des flux commerciaux encore plus grande de 21,25%. Dans les deux scenarios, presque tous les produits agricoles subissent une reduction des echanges bilateraux, avec les exportations agricoles americaines vers le Mexique subissant parmi les reductions proportionnelles les plus grandes. Plusieurs secteurs de l'agriculture nord‐americaine produiraient moins avec l'abandon de l'ALENA, incluant les secteurs des fruits, des noix, des legumes, des oleagineux, les huiles vegetales et les aliments transformes au Canada; Les secteurs des fruits, des legumes et du bœuf au Mexique; et les secteurs de la viande de volaille, du porc, du bœuf et des produits laitiers aux Etats‐Unis.
Online Sol-gel Capillary Microextraction-Mass Spectrometry (CME-MS) Analysis of Illicit Drugs.

Providing rapid and sensitive sample cleanup, sol-gel capillary microextraction (CME) is a form of solid phase microextraction (SPME). The capillary format of CME couples easily with mass spectrometry (MS) by employing sol-gel sorbent coatings in inexpensive fused silica capillaries. By leveraging the syringe pump and six-port valve readily available on the commercial MS, we can obviate the need for chromatography for samples as complex as urine in quantitative assays. Two different sol-gel materials were studied as microextraction sorbents: one with a single ligand of octadecyl (C18) and the other with a dual-ligand combination of C18 and phenyl (Phe) groups. The CME-MS method was optimized for flow rate and solvent desorption and studied for overall microextraction performance between the two sorbents studied. We extract illicit drugs including cocaine, heroin, amphetamine, methamphetamine, 3,4-methylenedioxymethamphetamine, and oxycodone, proving good run-to-run reproducibility (RSD% < 10%) and low detection limits (< 10 ng mL−1). The dual-ligand sorbent demonstrated superior performance due to typical hydrophobic properties of C18 as well as potential π-π interactions of the Phe functionality and the aromatic moiety common to many drugs. This study demonstrates the advantage of fine-tuning sol-gel sorbents for application-specific CME-MS. We apply our method to the analysis of various drugs in synthetic and human urine samples and show low carryover effect (~ 5%) and low matrix effect in the presence of the urine matrix. Thus, the sol-gel CME-MS technique described herein stands to be an attractive alternative to other SPME-MS techniques.
Huntington’s Disease

Patients with Huntington’s disease, a dominantly inherited disorder characterized by choreiform movements and dementia, have a marked loss of neurons in the caudate nucleus and putamen.5 Recent neurochemical studies indicate that some of these cells utilize 7-aminobutyric acid (GABA) and acetylcholine as transmitter agents.13 Nevertheless, for many years, physicians have observed beneficial effects on the movement disability of patients with Huntington’s disease after treatment with drugs that modify metabolism of dopamine, serotonin, and norepinephrine. In particular, the improvements noted following administration of dopamine-receptor-blocking agents such as phenothiazine and butyrophenone neuroleptics have been used as evidence to suggest that the dopaminergic system is overactive in this disorder. However, measurements of dopamine function in the brains of Huntington patients indicate that dopamine metabolism is normal or reduced, rather than increased.
Rhetorical Map of an Answer

In this Chapter we explore an anatomy of an arbitrary text with respect to how it can answer questions. One more opportunity for discourse analysis to assist with topical relevance of an answer is identified. We discover that a discourse tree of an answer sheds a light on how an answer is constructed, and how to treat keyword occurrence. There is a simple observation employed by search engines: keywords from a query need to occur in a single answer sentence, for this answer to be relevant. Relying on answer anatomy, we substantially extend the notion of how query keywords should occur in answer areas such as its elementary discourse units. We explore how to identify informative and uninformative parts of answers in terms of matching with questions. It turns out that discourse trees contribute a lot in building answer maps which are fairly important for determining whether this answer is good or not for a given question.
Case-Control Research Study of Auto-Brewery Syndrome.

BackgroundAuto-brewery syndrome (ABS), also known as Gut Fermentation Syndrome and Endogenous Ethanol Fermentation, is afflicting people worldwide, but little is known about ABS patients’ demograph...
3D-Architected Soft Machines with Topologically Encoded Motion

The present disclosure generally relates to 3D-architected soft machines with topologically encoded actuation, and methods of making and using the 3D-architected soft machines.
Eugenic Scientific Utopias Filled with Socially Engineered Happy Productive People

Supported by Darwin and developed by leading Western scientists, eugenics or the “science of racial betterment” became the dominant scientific force in the study of human differences, including human emotions. This chapter describes the promotion of eugenics as the path to individual and communal utopian happiness, as well as the development of specific scientific methods used to test human differences and to control emotional expressions. It discusses the significance of the study of brains, genes, intelligence and personality testing in attempts to prove the inferiority of particular groups, as well as the promotion of strategies to socially engineer, and thereby improve, already superior groups. This discussion will highlight key role played by leading American psychologists in the development and promotion of eugenics worldwide.
Abstract 923: Pharmacological Activation of Ampk With a Direct Pan-ampk Activator Results in a Worsening of a Hf Phenotype in Mice

The absence of effective therapeutic treatments that can restore function in patients with heart failure necessitates the identification of new mechanisms and strategies to improve outcomes. Strate...