cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Quantification of cell sensitivity to nanosecond duration electrical pulses

Cellular exposure to nanosecond duration electrical pulses (nsEP) has been shown to elicit a marked decrease in plasma membrane resistance hypothesized to be due to formation of nanopores. Patch clamp technique has been used to measure changes in plasma membrane resistance immediately following nsEP exposure. Previous research by our group identified absorbed dose as a single metric to quantify cellular exposure across various pulse parameters. In that work, the relationship between the drop in membrane resistance and absorbed dose was hypothesized to be a measure of cell sensitivity to nsEP. In this study, we explore this hypothesis by employing patch clamp technique prior to exposure to measure whole cell currents at time points before and after exposure. Using two cell lines (GH3 and CHO), dose response curves were generated for single 60ns pulse exposures at 10 and 90 seconds post exposure. From this data, it was evident that dose response curves at 10 seconds post exposure showed increased permeability following nsEP exposure compared to 90 seconds post exposure. We attribute this difference to active recovery of the cell to nanoporation. However, at 90 seconds, the results for both cell types appeared to nearly match previously published results proving that a cell in whole cell configuration is slightly more sensitive to nsEP exposure. Future work will extend this study to include multiple nsEP exposures and additional cell lines.
Na+, K(+)-ATPase isoforms in the retina.

Publisher Summary This chapter describes Na + , K + - adenosine triphosphatase (ATPase) isoforms in the retina and explores how the existence of these isoforms might be advantageous for visual function. It also discusses the aspects of enzyme expression in other cells that may contribute to understanding of the functions of the enzyme in retina, especially in photoreceptor cells. Na + , K + -ATPase or Na + , K + -transporting ATPase is the enzyme that forms the sodium pump, ubiquitous in animal cells. The enzyme couples the energy derived from ATP hydrolysis to the transport of sodium and potassium ions. The sodium pump is composed of two subunits, α, the larger catalytic subunit, and β, a smaller glycoprotein. The α subunit contains binding sites for Na + , K + , and ATP, and a site for phosphorylation and a binding site for ouabain and related cardiac glycosides, which specifically inhibit Na + , K + -ATPase. The existence of variant forms of the α subunit of Na + ,K + -ATPase was suggested by studies of inhibition of enzyme activity in brain by cardiac glycosides such as ouabain, which revealed at least two binding affinities for the inhibitor. Sweadner identified two forms—namely, α (for the band that had the same mobility as the catalytic subunit in kidney) and α+ (for the additional slower migrating band) in neural tissue in sodium dodecyl sulfate (SDS) gels. The electrophoretic variant α+ is known to consist of two comigrating polypeptides, called α2 and α3.
Imagined geographies: Sovereignty, indigenous space, and American Indian struggle

In this article, I seek to complicate scholars' understanding of the “modular” form of the nation-state by examining four kinds of indigenous political space that figure in contemporary American Indian struggle in the United States: (1) “tribal” or indigenous-nation sovereignty on reservation homelands; (2) comanagement of off-reservation resources and sites shared between tribal, federal, and state governments; (3) national indigenous space in which Indian people exercise portable rights beyond reservations; and (4) hybrid political space in which Indian people exercise dual citizenship and assert rights as tribal citizens under treaty and other federal Indian law, as U.S. citizens under the Constitution, and as social or cultural citizens within a multicultural U.S. society.
Ergodic properties of simple model system with collisions

We investigate the ergodic properties of the discrete time evolution of a particle in a two‐dimensional torus with velocity in the unit square. The dynamics consists of free motion for a unit time interval followed by a baker's transformation of the velocity.
Changes in Water Vapor Transport and the Production of Precipitation in the Eastern Fertile Crescent as a Result of Global Warming

Abstract This study investigates changes in the types of storm events occurring in the Fertile Crescent as a result of global warming. Regional climate model [fifth-generation Pennsylvania State University–National Center for Atmospheric Research Mesoscale Model (MM5)–Noah] simulations are run for the first and last five years of the twenty-first century following the Special Report on Emissions Scenarios (SRES) A2 experiment. Then the precipitation events are classified according to the water vapor fluxes that created them. At present most of the region’s precipitation is from westerly water vapor fluxes. Results indicate that the region will increasingly get its precipitation from large events that are dominated by southerly water vapor fluxes. The increase in these events will occur in the transition seasons, especially autumn.
USE OF WETLANDS BY SPRING-MIGRANT SHOREBIRDS IN AGRICULTURAL LANDSCAPES OF NORTH DAKOTA'S DRIFT PRAIRIE

Small, isolated wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region of North America may be of critical importance to migrating shorebirds but are at high risk of drainage for agricultural production. We evaluated shorebird use of 1,181 temporary and seasonal wetlands within agricultural fields in the Drift Prairie physiographic region of North Dakota, USA over a 10-week period in spring of 2001. A total of 4,050 shorebirds of 25 species was observed on sampled wetlands. Shorebirds selected temporary wetlands that had water present during multiple visits, little emergent vegetation, large perimeters, and other wetlands in the surrounding landscape. Shorebirds were less likely to use wetlands showing evidence of drainage. Observed use of wetland basins suggests that small wetlands in the Prairie Pothole Region host millions of migrant shorebirds each spring. Continued existence of many of these wetlands may be threatened by a recent U.S. Supreme Court ruling that removed federal protection from certain isolated wetlands. Our results show the importance of current wetland protection provisions such as “Swampbuster” and other conservation practices of the United States Department of Agriculture Farm Program.
Thermal Conductivity of Thermally-Isolating Polymeric and Composite Structural Support Materials Between 0.3 and 4 K

We present measurements of the low-temperature thermal conductivity of a number of polymeric and composite materials from 0.3 to 4 K. The materials measured are Vespel SP-1, Vespel SP-22, unfilled PEEK, 30% carbon fiber-filled PEEK, 30% glass-filled PEEK, carbon fiber Graphlite composite rod, Torlon 4301, G-10/FR-4 fiberglass, pultruded fiberglass composite, Macor ceramic, and graphite rod. These materials have moderate to high elastic moduli making them useful for thermally-isolating structural supports.
Feminism and Family Studies

Three basic tenets of feminism (the belief that women are exploited, devalued, and oppressed; a commitment to changing the conditions of women; and the adoption of a perspective critical of intellectual traditions) are discussed. At times these principles are at odds with traditional science. Therefore, we address the question: “Can one be both a scientist and a feminist?” and answer in the affirmative. A review of a sample of JMF articles over the past 20 years shows some substantive but little methodological evidence of feminist scholarship. Analysis of NCFR board composition, and editors and authors in NCFR journals over the same time period reveals a pattern of underrepresentation of women. Scholars in the profession, ourselves included, are called upon to integrate feminist scholarship into the field. The degree to which NCFR adopts and applies gender-neutral standards is the degree to which achievement of feminist goals will be possible.
WebGBrowse--a web server for GBrowse.

Summary: The Generic Genome Browser (GBrowse) is one of the most widely used tools for visualizing genomic features along a reference sequence. However, the installation and configuration of GBrowse is not trivial for biologists. We have developed a web server, WebGBrowse that allows users to upload genome annotation in the GFF3 format, configure the display of each genomic feature by simply using a web browser and visualize the configured genomic features with the integrated GBrowse software. Availability: WebGBrowse is accessible via http://webgbrowse. cgb.indiana.edu/ and the system is also freely available for local installations.
Isolated Entities or Integrated Neighbourhoods? An Alternative View of the Measurement of Deprivation:

The use of area-based deprivation indices is now a firmly established means of assessing which areas ought to be the focus of government policy, with separate indices of deprivation established for each constituent part of the UK. In England, the Index of Multiple Deprivation 2004 has been widely used to support decision-making for key urban policies and in more local assessments of deprivation. Implicit in the development and use of these indicators is the notion that area matters and that it can be an important influence on a whole range of different activities. However, there is also a sense in which contemporary measures of deprivation are spatially short-sighted since they are not able to account formally for the spatial context of individual locations. This paper therefore offers an alternative approach to the measurement of local conditions by combining spatial statistical approaches with a much-used deprivation index.
Efficient mapping of range classifier into ternary-CAM

Packet classification is inherently a multidimensional search problem which is either very computation intensive or memory intensive for software implementation. Thus, hardware based solution is necessary to keep up with gigabit line rate processing. We consider using standard ternary content addressable memory (TCAM) as a hardware classification engine. Traditionally, this approach has been deemed inefficient because ranges have to be broken into prefixes before stored in TCAM, resulting in large expansion. We propose a novel scheme where we can efficiently map ranges into TCAM. Our proposal has no expansion at all, or very little expansion for width constrained application. Our proposal enables high speed deterministic classification using low cost commodity hardware.
The evolving syntheses of program value

In this paper, we object to Michael Scriven's claim that the basic logic of evaluation is criterial and standards-based. We note that valuing is an integral part of perception and that valuing within perception, repeatedly refined, is an even more basic logic of evaluation. We find unpersuasive his claim that making the final synthesis “governed” will diminish bias, noting that bias will find its way into the required statements of need, function, standards and weighting. We offer our alternative for disciplining the synthesis process, by urging more systematic and demanding critiques of emerging interpretations and values, and by more deliberately using competing conceptual organizers (e.g., goals, issues, decisions and elements of the rules Scriven advocates) as temporary and dialectical grounds for reconsidering the evolving meanings of the program, including its merit and shortcoming.
Architectures for Simultaneous Coding and Encryption Using Chaotic Maps

In this work, we discuss an interpretation of arithmetic coding using chaotic maps. We present a hardware implementation using 64 bit fixed point arithmetic on Virtex-6 FPGA (with and without using DSP slices). The encoder resources are slightly higher than a traditional AC encoder, but there are savings in decoder performance. The architectures achieve clock frequency of 400-500 MHz on Virtex-6 xc6vlx75 device.
Adverse events of open A1 pulley release for idiopathic trigger finger.

Purpose To classify and report adverse events of trigger finger release in a large cohort of patients. Methods We retrospectively reviewed 1,598 trigger finger releases performed by 12 surgeons in 984 patients between 2001 and 2011. Adverse events were classified based on a system derived from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention criteria and clinical experience. Risk factors for various adverse events were sought in bivariate and multivariable statistical analysis. Results At the latest follow-up, 66 patients (7%), or 84 operated trigger digits (5%), experienced a documented adverse event. The most common adverse events were recovery issues in 46 patients (3%) (such as postoperative symptoms treated with steroid injection or slow recovery of motion treated with hand therapy), wound problems in 30 patients (2%) (consisting of suture abscess, superficial infection, or wound separation), persistent postoperative triggering in 10 patients (0.6%), and recurrent triggering in 4 patients (0.3%). Diabetes mellitus was associated with wound problems, slow recovery of motion, and recurrence. Concomitant carpal tunnel release on the same side was associated with slow recovery. Conclusions Fourteen patients, less than 1%, in this cohort experienced an adverse event, such as persistent or recurrent triggering, requiring secondary surgery. No nerve injury or deep infection occurred in our cohort. One in 15 patients experienced a minor transient or treatable adverse event, and patients with diabetes were at greater risk. Type of study/level of evidence Therapeutic IV.
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy: from genetics to treatment.

Background Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) is the prototypic form of pathological cardiac hypertrophy. HCM is an important cause of sudden cardiac death in the young and a major cause of morbidity in the elderly. Design We discuss the clinical implications of recent advances in the molecular genetics of HCM. Results The current diagnosis of HCM is neither adequately sensitive nor specific. Partial elucidation of the molecular genetic basis of HCM has raised interest in genetic-based diagnosis and management. Over a dozen causal genes have been identified. MYH7 and MYBPC3 mutations account for about 50% of cases. The remaining known causal genes are uncommon and some are rare. Advances in DNA sequencing techniques have made genetic screening practical. The difficulty, particularly in the sporadic cases and in small families, is to discern the causal from the non-causal variants. Overall, the causal mutations alone have limited implications in risk stratification and prognostication, as the clinical phenotype arises from complex and often non-linear interactions between various determinants. Conclusions The clinical phenotype of ‘HCM’ results from mutations in sarcomeric proteins and subsequent activation of multiple cellular constituents including signal transducers. We advocate that HCM, despite its current recognition and management as a single disease entity, involves multiple partially independent mechanisms, despite similarity in the ensuing phenotype. To treat HCM effectively, it is necessary to delineate the underlying fundamental mechanisms that govern the pathogenesis of the phenotype and apply these principles to the treatment of each subset of clinically recognized HCM.
Potential Momentum, Gauge Theory, and Electromagnetism in Introductory Physics

If potential energy is the timelike component of a four-vector, then there must be a corresponding spacelike part which would logically be called the potential momentum. The potential four-momentum consisting of the potential momentum and the potential energy taken together is just the gauge field of the associated force times the charge associated with that force. The canonical momentum is the sum of the ordinary and potential momenta. Refraction of matter waves by a discontinuity in a gauge field can be used to explore the effects of gauge fields at an elementary level. Using this tool it is possible to show how the Lorentz force law of electromagnetism follows from gauge theory. The resulting arguments are accessible to students at the level of the introductory calculus-based physics course and tie together classical and quantum mechanics, relativity, gauge theory, and electromagnetism. The resulting economy of presentation makes it easier to include modern physics in the one year course normally available for teaching introductory physics.
A framework for engineering change management in enterprise resource planning using service-oriented architecture

Collaborative product development addresses ever-increasing competition in the marketplace by combining capabilities of several independent organisations to form a virtual resource-rich organisation. An engineering change (EC) in such a collaborative environment inevitably involves multiple organisations. Therefore, managing it effectively requires all these organisations to plan and implement the change together. The engineering change management (ECM) system should ensure proper interactions between different information systems, provide departments and partners with consistent data access, and maintain flexible workflows to meet product or partner specific requirements. A service-oriented architecture (SOA) based framework is proposed to carryout ECM across a supply chain. Each service in the SOA framework accomplishes an independent task, then performs a set of tasks constituting a business process. This framework enables the interaction between the partner's information systems in a communication backbone to achieve an effective ECM over a collaborative network of product development.
Interconnect Reliability Study Using a Microscopic Nucleation Model for Electromigration

A microscopic nucleation model for electromigration is proposed. The solution to the master equations for site occupancy produces a variable current exponent with 1 < n < 2. These results disprove previous claims that n = 2 in nucleation models. We also address the long-standing speculation regarding an additional temperature dependence in Black’s equation. Under the premise that the activation energy in Black’s equation, Ea, should be equal to the energy barrier for atomic hopping, we provide evidence for an additional T2 dependence of the failure time. Microscopic modeling provides an explicit connection between the macroscopic model behavior and the microscopic parameters of the model. A continuum treatment of our model is derived and compared with standard continuum treatments.
Transcriptional control of Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel expression: identification of a second, evolutionarily conserved, neuronal promoter.

Neuronal signaling properties are largely determined by the quantity and combination of ion channels expressed. The Drosophila slowpoke gene encodes a Ca(2+)-activated K(+) channel used throughout the nervous system. The slowpoke transcriptional control region is large and complex. To simplify the search for sequences responsible for tissue-specific expression, we relied on evolutionary conservation of functionally important sequences. A number of conserved segments were found between two Drosophila species. One led us to a new 5′ exon and a new transcriptional promoter: Promoter C0. In larvae and adults, Promoter C0 was demonstrated to be neural-specific using flies transformed with reporter genes that either contain or lack the promoter. The transcription start site of Promoter C0 was mapped, and the exon it appends to the 5′ end of the mRNA was sequenced. This is the second neural-specific slowpoke promoter to be identified, the first being Promoter C1. Promoter choice does not alter the encoded polypeptide sequence. RNAase protection assays indicate that Promoter C0 transcripts are approximately 12 times more abundant that Promoter C1 transcripts. Taken together, these facts suggest that promoter choice may be a means for cells to control channel density.
The Spatial Legacy of Informal Empire: Oil, the Soviet Union, and the Contours of Economic Development in China's Far West

AbstractBeginning in the 1930s, Soviet geologists, engineers, and economic planners began laying the infrastructure of informal empire in China's westernmost province of Xinjiang. Seeking to gain access to its rich petroleum wealth in particular, these Soviet state agents helped create a blueprint for state investment and development in Xinjiang that continues to resonate today. Confronting the substantial Soviet investment in the province and driven by a border policy intent on minimizing capital expenditures for distant peripheries, economic planners in the Republic of China and the People's Republic alike relied heavily on Soviet reports, technology, and infrastructure in their own economic development plans. In the end, the efforts of Chinese and Soviet planners, often working in collaboration, helped create an enduring pattern of state investment in Xinjiang. Focusing on oil extraction, processing, and transport operations in Xinjiang, this work reveals the long-term resonances of informal empire in ...
The good practices manifesto: Overcoming bad practices pervasive in current research in business

Abstract Under the “Metrics” link, Google.com/scholar ranks the top twenty journals by impact in 16 subcategories of “business, economics, and management” (e.g., accounting and taxation, economics, finance, marketing, strategic management, tourism and hospitality). This editorial describes bad practices appearing in the majority of published articles in the twenty leading journals within all of these 16 subcategories. Unfortunately, bad practices appear in most articles in the Journal of Business Research —even though the JBR is first in marketing and seventh in strategic management in the Google journal h5 impact rankings. Most of the articles in most of the journals in finance, management, marketing, and organizational studies include empirical positivistic methods and findings—and each of these empirical articles likely includes three-to-ten or more bad practices that this editorial describes. The editorial includes how to design-in good practices in theory, data collection procedures, analysis, and interpretations to avoid these bad practices. Given that bad practices in research are ingrained in the career training of scholars in sub-disciplines of business/management (e.g., through reading articles exhibiting bad practices usually without discussions of the severe weaknesses in these studies and by research courses stressing the use of regression analysis and structural equation modeling), this editorial is likely to have little impact. However, scholars and executives supporting good practices should not lose hope. The relevant literature includes a few brilliant contributions that can serve as beacons for eliminating the current pervasive bad practices and for performing highly competent research.
The Influence of Neighborhood Poverty on Blood Glucose Levels: Findings from the Community Initiative to Eliminate Stroke (CITIES) program

Objectives: To examine the relationship between both individual and neighborhood level characteristics and non-fasting blood glucose levels. Study design: This study used a cross sectional design using data from the Community Initiative to Eliminate Stroke Program in NC (2004-2008). A total of 12,809 adults nested within 550 census block groups from two adjacent urban counties were included in the analysis. Methods: Participants completed a cardiovascular risk factor assessment with self-reported demographics, stroke-risk behaviors, and biometric measurements. Neighborhood level characteristics were based upon census data. Three multilevel models were constructed for data analysis. Results: Mean blood glucose level of this sample population was 103.61mg/dL. The unconditional model 1 suggested a variation in mean blood glucose levels among the neighborhoods (t00=13.39; P Conclusions: The findings provide evidence that neighborhood disadvantage is a significant predictor of neighborhood and individual level blood glucose levels. One approach to diabetes prevention could be for policymakers to address the problems associated with environmental determinants of health.
A New Role for Money as Hostage Against Opportunism in Strategic Alliances

We propose a new role for money as a self-commitment device (in effect, a hostage against opportunism, after Williamson (1983)) in a bilateral exchange relationship such as a strategic alliance. Consider two firms who desire to exchange services over time. When a single unit of one service is worth more than a unit of the other, a trade imbalance inevitably arises before accounts are settled: at some point in the transaction cycle, one side has received more than it has given - a shift in bargaining power caused not by an unforeseen circumstance but by the natural rhythm of the trade between the firms. If this imbalance is large enough, it is tempting for the firm with the temporary trade deficit, who has received benefit from her trading partner but not yet reciprocated, to exit the relationship before delivering her part of the bargain. Rational anticipation of this deliberate breach can, of course, lead to unraveling of the alliance, since neither side wishes to incur costs to provide benefits without receiving any in return. We show that a small amount of money (in our example, less than the value of the smallest tradeable item) can overcome this problem and thus support repeated, balanced trade and the alliance containing it. This money acts as a hostage against opportunistic exit from the alliance (in the spirit of the variety of both monetary and non monetary exchanges, cross-ownership, and reciprocal investments in relationship-specific capital examined by Williamson (1983), Perotti (1992), and Ahmadjian and Oxley (2006) respectively); such a minimal amount of money is necessary (and, in some cases, sufficient) to sustain the alliance and support trade.
Comment on the "compressibility collapse" transition in Re O 3

First- and second-order quadrupolar effects on the Re NMR in Re${\mathrm{O}}_{3}$ have been used to show that the "compressibility collapse" transition results in a high-pressure phase of symmetry lower than cubic and to map out the phase boundary from 1 to 300 K.
Two-band model for Nb Se 3 (Ohmic regime)

The charge-density-wave (CDW) linear-chain metal Nb${\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ shows striking non-Ohmic behavior when the applied electric field exceeds \ensuremath{\sim} 0.1 V/cm. Hall effect, transverse magnetoresistance, conductivity anisotropy, and Shubnikov-de Haas measurements using sufficiently low current densities to avoid Ohmic breakdown have been published. We propose a simple two-band model to account for the temperature dependence of these quantities as well as the (magnetic) field dependence of the Hall constant in the Ohmic regime below 58 K. The model has six unknowns (carrier concentrations and mobilities) that are fixed by six experimental numbers at each temperature $T$. The solution shows that all the mobilities obey a power-law behavior versus $T$, whereas the carrier concentrations are both $T$ independent up to 40 K. Above 40 K the hole population rises sharply, analogous to the theoretical predictions for an excitonic insulator. This implies that the CDW gap occurs on the hole surface. Using the parameters of the model, we have recomputed the resistivities, Hall constant, and magnetoresistance, and they have been shown to agree with all the available experimental data. Thus the conventional single-particle picture with the additional hypothesis of a BCS-type gap on the hole surface is adequate for understanding the transport properties of Nb${\mathrm{Se}}_{3}$ in the zero-frequency-Ohmic regime. We also interpret the SdH data in terms of the two-band model.
Pharyngo-occipital artery variant arising from the internal carotid artery impacting surgical technique during carotid endarterectomy

Background and importance Extracranial carotid artery atherosclerotic stenosis typically occurs at the junction of the common carotid, external carotid and internal carotid arteries. Although rare, anatomical arterial variants can influence surgical strategy and can have a significant impact on surgical complications and patient outcome. An unusual case of atherosclerotic stenosis of the internal carotid artery (ICA) at the origin of a pharyngo-occipital variant off of the ICA is reported here. Clinical presentation A 60-year-old man presented with symptomatic severe left cervical ICA stenosis. The stenosis was related to the origin of the pharyngo-occipital common trunk which arose from the ICA rather than the typical origin off of the external carotid artery. The patient underwent successful left carotid endarterectomy with special attention to this variant anatomy. Conclusion Anomalies of the extracranial ICA, although rare, can influence the location of atherosclerotic disease and the surgical endarterectomy strategy. A detailed anatomical study should be performed prior to surgery to minimize risk and improve patient outcome.
Letter to the Editor: Persistent Stage-1 changes imply sustained perimyocardial irritation.

This finding can last for days to weeks in patients with secondary pericarditis (malignant or pyopericarditis) and in other words can represent a ‘Stage-1 Halt of ECG changes’ in patients, especially those presenting subacutely. Thus, if carefully correlated with symptom onset, it can serve as an important electrocardiographic clue for differentiation from idiopathic or viral pericarditis. Albeit in the present case the patient presented with acute onset of symptoms with initial ECG demonstrating classical J-ST elevation (Stage-1 changes), suggesting an early phase of perimyocardial irritation from pyopericarditis. We also wanted to bring the readers’ attention to another important electrocardiographic sign of acute pericarditis i.e., Spodick’s sign, which refers to PRdepression in association with diffuse ST segment elevation and down-sloping TP-segments. [4,5] It is present in about 80% of patients with acute pericarditis, and is best visualized in lead II and lateral precordial leads (V4-6). It serves as an important feature to distinguish acute idiopathic pericarditis from acute coronary syndrome. Spodick’s sign is highly specific for idiopathic pericarditis although may not be very sensitive for non-idiopathic pericarditis such as in the present case. [4] Its shallow prominence in the presented ECG again points to the fact that Spodick’s sign may not be an obvious diagnostic characteristic for these groups of patients. An awareness of these characteristic electrocardiographic features may not only facilitate early diagnosis of acute pericarditis, but also may be extremely helpful in identifying the underlying etiopathogenesis and translating into improved clinical outcomes.
Stanford University Unstructured (SU2): Analysis and Design Technology for Turbulent Flows

This paper presents a comprehensive set of test cases for the verification and validation (V & V) of the Stanford University Unstructured (SU) software suite within the context of compressible, turbulent flows described by the Reynolds-averaged Navier-Stokes (RANS) equations. SU is an open-source (Lesser General Public License, version 2.1), integrated analysis and design tool for solving multi-disciplinary problems governed by partial differential equations (PDEs) on general, unstructured meshes. As such, SU is able to handle arbitrarily complex geometries, mesh adaptation, and a variety of physical problems. At its core, the software suite is a collection of C++ modules embedded within a Python framework that are built specifically for both PDE analysis and PDE-constrained optimization, including surface gradient computations using the continuous adjoint technique. V & V studies of twoand three-dimensional problems are presented for turbulent flows across a wide range of Mach numbers (from subsonic flat plate studies to a complex, transonic aircraft configuration). The presentation of this comprehensive V & V of SU is intended to be the main contribution of this paper: the results generated with SU in a variety of standard test cases compare well with experimental data and established flow solvers that have undergone similar V & V efforts. For completeness, the adjoint-based shape design capability within SU is also illustrated.
Argon Ion and Excimer Laser Induced Epitaxy of GaP

Laser-induced epitaxial growth of GaP has been achieved using both pyrolytic and photolytic reactions. A focused beam from an argon ion laser operating at 514.5 nm was used to ‘direct-write’ epitaxial microstructures of GaP on silicon using a pyrolytic process. An ArF excimer laser has also been used to demonstrate homoepitaxy utilizing the photolytic process.
Abstract B05: Improved therapy for neuroblastoma using small molecule inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy

Neuroblastoma is the most common pediatric malignancy with poor response to current therapy. The NF-kB/mTOR, hedgehog and PLK1 pathways/molecules are aberrantly expressed and activated in high-risk neuroblastoma, thereby targeting these pathways/molecules is an attractive therapeutic strategy. Therefore, we investigated the efficacy and associated molecular mechanism(s) of NF-kB/mTOR dual inhibitor 13-197, hedgehog inhibitor Vismodegib and PLK1 inhibitor BI2536 alone or in combination with Topotecan against high-risk neuroblastoma in vitro and in vivo. Using three neuroblastoma cell lines, the in vitro efficacy of the inhibitors as single agents or in combination with Topotecan on cell growth and apoptosis along with associated molecular mechanism(s) were investigated. In addition, the combined efficacy of Vismodegib and Topotecan was determined in vivo using a xenograft mouse model. Results showed that 13-197, BI2536 and Vismodegib significantly decreased neuroblastoma cell growth and induced apoptosis by targeting associated pathways and molecules in vitro. The 13-197 and BI2536 as single agents showed similar efficacies and were most potent in inhibiting cell growth and survival of neuroblastoma cells. In combination with Topotecan, BI2536 or Vismodegib further significantly decreased neuroblastoma cell growth/survival and neurospheres formation. Corresponding changes in the expression of targeted molecules following therapy were observed. Together, in vitro data demonstrated that hedgehog pathway inhibitor Vismodegib was most efficacious in potentiating Topotecan-induced antineuroblastoma effects. Therefore, as a next logical step, we tested the combined efficacy of Vismodegib and Topotecan against neuroblastoma in vivo using NOD-SCID Gamma deleted (NSG) mice. Our in vivo results showed that Vismodegib combined with Topotecan significantly (p Citation Format: Nagendra K. Chaturvedi, McGuire R. Timothy, Don W. Coulter, Ashima Shukla, Erin M. McIntyre, J. Graham Sharp, Shantaram S. Joshi. Improved therapy for neuroblastoma using small molecule inhibitors in combination with chemotherapy. [abstract]. In: Proceedings of the AACR Special Conference on Advances in Pediatric Cancer Research: From Mechanisms and Models to Treatment and Survivorship; 2015 Nov 9-12; Fort Lauderdale, FL. Philadelphia (PA): AACR; Cancer Res 2016;76(5 Suppl):Abstract nr B05.
The Legal Construction of Whiteness and Citizenship in Maryland, 1780–1820:

In the years before the Missouri Compromise, petitioners who won their freedom suits based upon their ancestral links to white women, with land, could participate in the body politic. However, as Maryland legislators began to identify with the plantation south, they invented a legal understanding that would deny ambiguously freed blacks freedom, and justices would re-invent proslavery jurispudence, using the attachment clause, which would remand the previously freed into a status worse than before they had petitioned the court. Those who were freed and could claim citizenship in the years immediately after the American Revolution, by 1810, case law had changed and they lost many of their rights they once held. By using a slave state like Maryland as a microcosm, this research hopes to show the gradual way African Americans were not only denied claims to legal protections but, were deprived of their rightful place as agents in this new democratic experiment.
Bioelectric Potentials and Currents

In this book we will be examining the behavior of excitable cells, notably nerve and muscle, both descriptively and quantitatively. The behavior is described mostly in terms of the potentials and currents that excitable cells produce. These potentials and currents are observed in the cells’ interior volume, across their membranes, and in their surrounding conducting volume from the cell surface to the body surface. Such electrical signals are vital to the transmission of information in nerves, the initiation of contraction in muscles, and hence essential to vision, hearing, the heartbeat, digestion, and other biological processes. Despite the tremendously different functions of these organ systems, it is remarkable how extensively their underlying electrical systems share many basic principles of organization, and how fundamentally similar they remain in almost all living creatures.
Lessons learned from the search for genes responsible for rare Mendelian disorders.

The last decade has witnessed dramatic improvements in DNA sequencing technology with reduced cost, increased throughput, and improved analytic tools and resources. A consequence of this technologic revolution is the rapid emergence of approaches applying these next‐generation sequencing (NGS) methods to many areas of medicine including discovery research and clinical diagnosis. Some consequences of this revolution include the ability to make molecular diagnosis for thousands of inherited phenotypes; molecular characterization of cancers that enable diagnostic refinement and individualized therapy; elucidation of pharmacogenetic susceptibilities, and enumeration of individual architectures of genetic variation conferring risk for common complex traits such as coronary artery disease, diabetes, and neuropsychiatric disease. These newly acquired capabilities form the cornerstone for individualized or precision medicine of the future.
Quantitative assays for measuring cell adhesion and motility in biomaterials

Abstract: This chapter reviews the quantification of cell adhesion and motility with a focus on the assays that enable these analyses. A description of these critical biological processes is provided and the characteristic parameters are described. Each assay is then classified according to the metrics used to quantify cell adhesion or locomotion. Finally, some recent advances and future prospects for the field are presented.
Summary of Washington Group Question Evaluation Studies

Over the past decade multiple question evaluation studies were conducted to examine the performance of Washington Group questions. While the goal of each study was to examine cross-cultural and multi-lingual comparability, the methodological designs of the studies differed. This chapter presents an overview of those evaluations, including the research goals, methodologies utilized, limitations and methodological advancements.
Measurement of the Metal Surface Acidity/Electronegativity of Pt(110)

In previous work, it has been found that a hydrogen-covered Pt(110) surface is acidic, but quantification of the acidity has not yet been done. In this paper a spectroscopic method is developed to measure the acidity of a metal surface for the first time. The technique involves measuring the intensity of the N–H stretch from the C5H4XNH+ that forms when hydrogen coadsorbs with pyridine, 2-fluoropyridine and 3-fluoropyridine. The Bethe approximation is then used to estimate the metal surface acidity/electronegativity (MSAEL). The proton affinity/MSAEL of Pt(110) has been determined to be 907 ± 4 kJ/mol at high coverage. This is the first time the MSAEL has been measured on a metal surface. Implications for fuel cell catalysis are discussed.
Pregnancy and Chronic Kidney Disease

CKD affects almost 4% of women of childbearing age (20–39 years). With the increasing incidence of CKD in the general population, and the trend to delay childbirth to more advanced maternal ages, the incidence of CKD in pregnancy is likely to increase in the future. In women with early stage CKD (S[Cr] less than 1.4 mg/dL) and well-controlled blood pressure, the likelihood of successful pregnancy is high and of pregnancy-associated deterioration in kidney function is low. Nevertheless, CKD is associated with several adverse maternal and neonatal outcomes, including pre-eclampsia, intrauterine growth restriction, and preterm delivery. Pregnancy in more advanced CKD (S[Cr] greater than 2.0 mg/dL) can result in an accelerated and often irreversible decline in renal function. CKD can present de novo during pregnancy. Management and outcomes must be individualized based on the severity, etiology, and gestational age at presentation. Medical management of kidney disease and its complications during pregnancy is affected by the impact of therapy on the developing fetus.
Towards a Madisonian, Interest-Group-Based, Approach to Lobbying Regulation

Recent lobbying scandals involving Jack Abramoff and Representative Tom DeLay have created a much-needed impetus for legislative reform of the lobbying process. But the question cries out: Will Congress actually enact any of the multitude of reform proposals currently on the table and, if it does, will any of those reforms make a difference in how the lobbying process operates? History suggests that the answer is No. This Article examines the reasons for Congress' persistent failure to enact effective lobbying reform, and posits that the primary cause is an underlying disjunct between legislators' and the public's views about the value of lobbying. I argue that before effective lobbying reform can be achieved, a fundamental shift in the philosophy underlying lobbying regulation must take place. The basic problem with existing lobbying regulations - and with all of the reforms currently under consideration by Congress - is that they focus on disclosure by lobbyists alone, leaving the elected officials whom lobbyists target, and the interest groups behind the lobbyists, essentially unregulated. I advocate that lobbying regulations instead (1) should require disclosures by elected officials about official-lobbyist contacts; and (2) should seek to capitalize on interest group competition for access to legislators as a method of disseminating lobbying disclosures to the voting public, and of generating more even-handed political contact by elected officials with interests on different sides of an issue. In this manner, lobbying regulations both would produce more substantively informative disclosures and would increase the likelihood that the voting public pays some attention to such disclosures, while also creating an incentive for elected officials to increase their own exposure to differing viewpoints before rendering policy decisions. As a result, voter competence at the ballot box, as well as the quality of legislative outcomes, should improve.
Impact of G12 Mutations on the Structure of K-Ras Probed by Ultraviolet Photodissociation Mass Spectrometry

Single-residue mutations at Gly12 (G12X) in the GTP-ase protein K-Ras can lead to activation of different downstream signaling pathways, depending on the identity of the mutation, through a poorly defined mechanism. Herein, native mass spectrometry combined with top-down ultraviolet photodissociation (UVPD) was employed to investigate the structural changes occurring from G12X mutations of K-Ras. Complexes between K-Ras or the G12X mutants and guanosine 5′-diphosphate (GDP) or GDPnP (a stable GTP analogue) were transferred to the gas phase by nano-electrospray ionization and characterized using UVPD. Variations in the efficiencies of backbone cleavages were observed upon substitution of GDPnP for GDP as well as for the G12X mutants relative to wild-type K-Ras. An increase in the fragmentation efficiency in the segment containing the first 50 residues was observed for the K-Ras/GDPnP complexes relative to the K-Ras/GDP complexes, whereas a decrease in fragmentation efficiency occurred in the segment contai...
Strong-Motion Accelerograms of the Oroville, California, aftershocks: Data processing and the aftershock of 0350 August 6, 1975

abstract The Oroville aftershock accelerograms are characterized by short durations (≲2 sec) of strong ground motion, small S -wave minus trigger times (≲2 sec), and an enrichment in frequencies above 1 Hz, as might be expected for 3 ≲ M ≲5 earthquakes recorded at close distances ( R ≲ 15 km). These characteristics introduce significant error into the velocity and displacement traces calculated according to the routine procedures used in the series “Strong Motion Earthquake Accelerograms.” These errors are markedly reduced by removing all decimation in the processing scheme and by constructing a smoother response for the Ormsby high-pass filter. The result is an accurate set of velocity and displacement traces that can be used in a wide variety of source-mechanism and ground-motion studies. These revised processing procedures are applied to the ten strong-motion accelerograms of one of the largest aftershocks (0350 August 6, 1975; M L = 4.7) to illustrate the quality of data available for 12 such well-recorded aftershocks and to estimate the source properties of this particular earthquake. All of the accelerographs triggered on the P wave, allowing the recovery of the complete S wave on ten accelerograms. Offsets in displacement across the S wave and a ramp-like signature leading up to the S wave identified on the displacement traces are apparently near-field source effects. The seismic moment and stress drop determined for this normal faulting event are 4.0 × 10 23 dyne-cm, and 410 bars, respectively. The seismic moment and stress drop are determined by averaging individual measurements at 9 and 8 stations, respectively, and are well-constrained with standard deviations that are about 25 per cent of the mean.
Dementia with Lewy bodies advances: A new consensus report.

Beginning in the 1980s, a number of studies defined a subset of patients with dementia with brainstem and cortical Lewy bodies and associated clinical characteristics. Based on the accumulated evidence, an international consortium proposed clinical and pathologic criteria for this distinct syndrome, dementia with Lewy bodies (DLB).1 Two subsequent consensus reports refined the diagnostic and pathologic criteria as additional evidence emerged. In this issue of Neurology® , the DLB Consortium publishes the fourth consensus report, further refining the clinical criteria for DLB by incorporating new evidence.2
Synthesis of [5,6]-Bicyclic Heterocycles with a Ring-Junction Nitrogen Atom: Rhodium(III)-Catalyzed C−H Functionalization of Alkenyl Azoles

The first syntheses of privileged [5,6]-bicyclic heterocycles, with ring-junction nitrogen atoms, by transition metal catalyzed C-H functionalization of C-alkenyl azoles is disclosed. Several reactions are applied to alkenyl imidazoles, pyrazoles, and triazoles to provide products with nitrogen incorporated at different sites. Alkyne and diazoketone coupling partners give azolopyridines with various substitution patterns. In addition, 1,4,2-dioxazolone coupling partners yield azolopyrimidines. Furthermore, the mechanisms for the reactions are discussed and the utility of the developed approach is demonstrated by iterative application of C-H functionalization for the rapid synthesis of a patented drug candidate.