cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
An investigation of high temperature thermodynamic properties in the Pt-Zr and Pt-Hf systems

High-temperature thermodynamic properties of Pt−Zr alloys containing 2 to 25 at. pct Zr and Pt−Hf alloys containing 20 to 25 at. pct Hf have been measured over the temperature range 1100 to 1400 K by a galvanic cell technique using a thoria-based electrolyte. Activities of Zr and Hf show large negative deviations from Raoult's Law; at 1300 K and 23 at. pct Zr of Hf, for instance,aZr=6.5×10−16 andaHf=7.9×10−17. Correlation of emf results with X-ray phase data enables calculation of standard free energies of formation of the intermetallic compounds ZrPt5, ZrPt3, and HfPt3. At 1300 K ΔGf0(ZrPt5) =−92,680 cal/mole; ΔGf0(ZrPt3)=−91,740 cal/mole; and ΔGf0(HfPt3)=−97,350 cal/mole. The high stabilities of phases in the Pt−Ti, Pt−Zr, and Pt−Hf systems verify the predictions of the Engel-Brewer correlation. The large negative entropies of formation of TiPt3, ZrPt3 are discussed. Applications including side reactions in fuel cells and thermocouple systems are mentioned.
An Improved Surgical Technique for the Complicated Hiatal Hernia with Gastroesophageal Reflux

Abstract Although so-called valve reconstruction procedures at the gastroesophageal junction provide marked relief for most patients with gastroesophageal reflux and hiatal hernia, there is a recurrence rate of 10 to 15%. Many of the recurrences are in patients with obesity, severe pulmonary disease, or stricture, or in patients who have developed a recurrence from other previous types of surgical therapy. Since the primary cause of failure in hiatal hernia repair is tension on the distal esophagus, which is created as a result of securing an adequate length of intraabdominal esophagus, the Collis gastroplasty, which lengthens the esophagus by construction of a tube of the lesser curvature of the stomach, combined with a Belsey reconstruction of the gastroesophageal angle and dilation in cases of stricture, has been successfully employed over the past three years in patients with factors that predispose to recurrence. This technique provides adequate length without tension, and in more than 39 such patients there has been no evidence of reflux or recurrence of hernia by clinical symptoms or cine esophagogram. No mortality or significant morbidity has been observed.
Brain forskolin binding in mice dependent on and tolerant to ethanol.

Abstract Chronic ethanol ingestion by mice was previously shown to result in decreased activation of adenylate cyclase by guanine nucleotides and s-adrenergic agonists, and in the loss of the high affinity s-adrenergic agonist binding site in frontal cortex and hippocampus but not in cerebellum. These results indicate a regional specificity of ethanol's actions on s-adrenergic receptors, the guanine nucleotide binding protein (Gs) and/or adenylate cyclase. To further detail the anatomical specificity of the effects of ethanol ingestion on receptor-coupled adenylate cyclase (AC) systems we have quantified the binding of [3H]forskolin to brain sections of control and ethanol-fed mice. High-affinity forskolin binding, thought to represent the complex of the α-subunit of Gs (αs) and AC, was decreased in several brain areas including frontal cortex and hippocampus, but not in cerebellum, nucleus accumbens and certain other brain areas of ethanol-fed mice. Guanine nucleotides, such as Gpp(NH)p, generally enhanced forskolin binding in control animals. In ethanol-fed mice, however, Gpp(NH)p failed to enhance forskolin binding in most brain regions. These findings suggest that chronic ethanol ingestion may decrease the amount or function of αs-AC in certain brain regions. Moreover, the regulation of the formation of this complex in different brain regions may affect responses to ethanol ingestion in mice.
A Weekly Spark for Progressive Educators: Annie Murphy Paul’s Brilliant Blog and Newsletter

Review of: Annie Murphy Paul: Brilliant: The Science of Smart. A newsletter bringing you the latest intelligence on learning. http://anniemurphypaul.com/
Variability of thermosphere and ionosphere responses to solar flares

We investigated how the rise rate and decay rate of solar flares affect the thermosphere and ionosphere responses to them. Model simulations and data analysis were conducted for two flares of similar magnitude (X6.2 and X5.4) that had the same location on the solar limb, but the X6.2 flare had longer rise and decay times. Simulated total electron content (TEC) enhancements from the X6.2 and X5.4 flares were 6 total electron content units (TECU) and approximately 2 TECU, and the simulated neutral density enhancements were approximately 15% -20% and approximately 5%, respectively, in reasonable agreement with observations. Additional model simulations showed that for idealized flares with the same magnitude and location, the thermosphere and ionosphere responses changed significantly as a function of rise and decay rates. The Neupert Effect, which predicts that a faster flare rise rate leads to a larger EUV enhancement during the impulsive phase, caused a larger maximum ion production enhancement. In addition, model simulations showed that increased E x B plasma transport due to conductivity increases during the flares caused a significant equatorial anomaly feature in the electron density enhancement in the F region but a relatively weaker equatorial anomaly feature in TEC enhancement, owing to dominant contributions by photochemical production and loss processes. The latitude dependence of the thermosphere response correlated well with the solar zenith angle effect, whereas the latitude dependence of the ionosphere response was more complex, owing to plasma transport and the winter anomaly.
210 Po and 210 Pb distribution, dissolved-particulate exchange rates, and particulate export along the North Atlantic US GEOTRACES GA03 section

Vertical profiles of 210Po and 210Pb in the water column were measured in the dissolved phase ( 51 µm) particles at seven stations along the US GEOTRACES North Atlantic Zonal Transect (GA03). Mass balance calculations were employed to assess nuclide exchange rates at the dissolved-small particle interface and between small and large particles, and to quantify export with settling large particles. In the surface ocean, 210Po scavenging is linearly correlated with the concentration of particulate organic carbon (POC) in large particles, supporting the role of biogenic particle in 210Po bioaccumulation and export. In stations near the coast, this link is more complex due to the variable source of biogenic material and temporal changes in the surface biogeochemical and physical conditions. At depth, 210Po exhibits significant widespread deficit with respect to 210Pb that could in part be attributed to in situ 210Po scavenging and may be related to surface biological productivity. As previously reported the 210Pb scavenging rates in the surface ocean were higher at ocean margins. At depth, 210Pb scavenging increases with depth and eastward due to the increase of adsorption sites available in the benthic layers and to a regional contribution of benthic 210Pb scavenging and/or particle flux, respectively. The benthic nepheloid layer (BNL) and the Hydrothermal TAG plume distinctly enhance 210Pb scavenging due to increased surface adsorption in association with resuspended or freshly formed particles. In contrast, 210Po is not seen to be significantly scavenged in these environments due to its relatively short half-life and the long residence time of particles.
Sources of pollution aerosol at dye 3, Greenland

Trace element concentrations and ratios were used to identify the continental origins of pollution aerosol at Dye 3, Greenland. Ratios of As, Se, noncrustal V, and Zn to Sb were compared with regional signatures for Eurasia and the eastern United States. The results show that both Eastern North America and Europe contribute to pollution aerosol at Dye 3. A major episode in April, 1989, displayed ratios more characteristic of a European origin. Air mass back trajectories were generally consistent with pollution aerosol chemistry. However, in cases where trajectories were ambiguous, the aerosol chemistry imposed significant constraints on potential source areas.
The Progressive Development of Multicultural Education before and after the 1960s: A Theoretical Framework.

Abstract Although the term “multicultural education” was first used in the late 1960s or early 1970s, the context and goals for its development have been evolving throughout the world for centuries. The impetus for multicultural education has been and continues to be human rights and liberation. This paper will present how past human struggles have been funneled into multicultural education. In addition, it will offer an explanation for why it was inevitable that the term “multicultural education” would first appear in the United States. This paper also will focus on the development of multicultural education since the 1960s, and finally, it will present a theoretical perspective and framework for viewing the development of multicultural education. Multicultural education ought to be considered the latest embodiment of human liberation.
Concurrent, parallel garbage collection in linear time

This paper presents a new concurrent garbage collection algorithm based on two types of reference, strong and weak, to link the graph of objects. Strong references connect the roots to all the nodes in the graph but do not contain cycles. Weak references may, however, contain cycles.Advantages of this system include: (1) reduced processing, non-trivial garbage collection work is only required when the last strong reference is lost; (2) fewer memory traces to delete objects, a garbage cycle only needs to be traversed twice to be deleted; (3) fewer memory traces to retain objects, since the collector can often prove objects are reachable without fully tracing support cycles to which the objects belong; (4) concurrency, it can run in parallel with a live system without "stopping the world"; (5) parallel, because collection operations in different parts of the memory can proceed at the same time.Previous variants of this technique required exponential cleanup time, but our algorithm is linear in total time, i.e. any changes in the graph take only O(N) time steps, where N is the number of edges in the affected subgraph (e.g. the subgraph whose strong support is affected by the operations).
Small-Angle Neutron Scattering of Silver Nanoparticles in Gas-Expanded Hexane

Stabilizing ligands play a major role in the synthesis and stabilization of metallic nanoparticles, allowing dispersibility in various solvents including gas-expanded liquids (GXLs). Interaction energy modeling has been used to predict the dispersibility of hydrophobically stabilized metal nanoparticles in GXLs but often overpredicts the mean particle size dispersed at a given solvent composition. More accurate and robust interaction energy models can be developed if the changes to both the ligand length and ligand solvation as a response to the composition of GXLs are better understood. Small-angle neutron scattering (SANS) is a unique technique for nanoparticle characterization where in-situ ligand solvation measurements can be obtained by contrasting hydrogenated nanoparticle ligands with deuterated solvent. This study presents the first in-depth SANS measurements of ligand length and ligand solvation variation during nanoparticle antisolvent precipitation. The focus of this investigation is dodecaneth...
Breakup of invariant tori for the four-dimensional semi-standard map

Abstract We compute the domain of existence of two-dimensional invariant tori with fixed frequency vectors for a four-dimensional, complex, symplectic map. The map is a generalization of the semi-standard map studied by Greene and Percival; it has three parameters, a 1 and a 2 representing the strength of the kicks in each degree of freedom, and ϵ, the coupling. The domain of existence of a torus in ( a 1 , a 2 ) is shown to be complete and log-convex for fixed k = ϵ / a 1 a 2 . Explicit bounds on the domain for fixed k are obtained. Numerical results show that quadratic irrationals can be more robust than the cubic irrational, “the spiral mean”.
Synthetic Oleanane Triterpenoids: Multifunctional Drugs with a Broad Range of Applications for Prevention and Treatment of Chronic Disease

We review the rationale for the use of synthetic oleanane triterpenoids (SOs) for prevention and treatment of disease, as well as extensive biological data on this topic resulting from both cell culture and in vivo studies. Emphasis is placed on understanding mechanisms of action. SOs are noncytotoxic drugs with an excellent safety profile. Several hundred SOs have now been synthesized and in vitro have been shown to: 1) suppress inflammation and oxidative stress and therefore be cytoprotective, especially at low nanomolar doses, 2) induce differentiation, and 3) block cell proliferation and induce apoptosis at higher micromolar doses. Animal data on the use of SOs in neurodegenerative diseases and in diseases of the eye, lung, cardiovascular system, liver, gastrointestinal tract, and kidney, as well as in cancer and in metabolic and inflammatory/autoimmune disorders, are reviewed. The importance of the cytoprotective Kelch-like erythroid cell-derived protein with CNC homology-associated protein 1/nuclear factor (erythroid-derived 2)-like 2/antioxidant response element (Keap1/Nrf2/ARE) pathway as a mechanism of action is explained, but interactions with peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor γ (PARPγ), inhibitor of nuclear factor-κB kinase complex (IKK), janus tyrosine kinase/signal transducer and activator of transcription (JAK/STAT), human epidermal growth factor receptor 2 (HER2)/ErbB2/neu, phosphatase and tensin homolog (PTEN), the phosphatidylinositol 3-kinase/protein kinase B (PI3K/Akt) pathway, mammalian target of rapamycin (mTOR), and the thiol proteome are also described. In these interactions, Michael addition of SOs to reactive cysteine residues in specific molecular targets triggers biological activity. Ultimately, SOs are multifunctional drugs that regulate the activity of entire networks. Recent progress in the earliest clinical trials with 2-cyano-3,12-dioxooleana-1,9(11)-dien-28-oic acid (CDDO) methyl ester (bardoxolone methyl) is also summarized.
Octomeric pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductase from Desulfovibrio vulgaris.

Pyruvate-ferredoxin oxidoreductatse (PFOR) carries out the central step in oxidative decarboxylation of pyruvate to acetyl-CoA. We have purified this enzyme from Desulfovibrio vulgaris Hildenborough (DvH) as part of a systematic characterization of as many multiprotein complexes as possible for this organism, and the three-dimensional structure of this enzyme has been determined by a combination of electron microscopy (EM), single particle image analysis, homology modeling and computational molecular docking. Our results show that the 1 MDa DvH PFOR complex is a homo-octomer, or more precisely, a tetramer of the dimeric form of the related enzyme found in Desulfovibrio africanus (Da), with which it shares a sequence identity of 69%. Our homology model of the DvH PFOR dimer is
A Failure Mode for PWM Inverter-Fed AC Motors Due to the Antiresonance Phenomenon

A failure mode for pulsewidth-modulation inverter-fed ac motors due to the antiresonance phenomenon is introduced and investigated in this paper. At high frequencies, an ac motor behaves as a series RLC circuit with a resonance point, so-called antiresonance, typically above 1.0 MHz. If the voltage oscillation frequency caused by the reflected-wave phenomenon matches the motor antiresonance frequency, an amplified voltage will appear internally between the turns of the stator windings. This externally unobservable state can cause winding insulation failure in the ac motor. This phenomenon is experimentally verified using a rewound permanent-magnet motor with accessible taps along the stator windings, and the results are presented in this paper.
Application of Generalized Characteristic Vectors to Problems of Propagation in Clad Inhomogeneous Dielectric Waveguides

A transformation matrix that uses generalized characteristic vectors is used to convert Maxwell's equations into a set of loosely coupled equations for the wave amplitudes. This transformation is suitable for permittivity profiles with turning points. In earlier full-wave solutions to these equations, several special functions that account for the local features of the permittivity profile, especially near the turning points, were used to obtain appropriate expansions of the fields. The transverse field components, the propagation coefficients, as well as the phase and group velocities, are computed for both horizontally polarized (TE) and vertically polarized (TM) modes of the dielectric waveguides using the full-wave approach. These solutions are compared with analytic solutions for waveguides with special permittivity profiles. They are also compared with recently published results based on a perturbational approach.
Prototyping the workspaces of the future

The Access Grid creates collaborative scientific workspaces that challenge traditional desktop metaphors by integrating large-scale visualization displays and lab instruments.
Electromagnetic energy exposure of simulated users of portable cellular telephones

Describes a method to quantify the RF exposure of the users of portable cellular phones in terms of specific absorption rate (SAR). The method involves a robotic system to accurately position an isotropic E-field probe within equivalent biological tissue. The user of cellular phones is simulated by a simple human model (a phantom) consisting of a thin shell of fibreglass filled with a liquid having the complex dielectric constant of human brain tissue. The authors present the results of the dosimetric assays conducted using current and previous models of cellular telephones. The peak SAR values detected using the measurement method described are below the limits recommended by the National Council for Radiation Protection and Measurements (NCRP) Report 86 for the protection of humans exposed to RF electromagnetic energy. >
Effect of spurious reflection on phase shift interferometry

The phase errors caused by spurious reflection in Twyman-Green and Fizeau interferometers are studied. A practical algorithm effectively eliminating the error is presented. Two other algorithms are reviewed, and the results obtained using the three algorithms are compared.
An introduction to femoral nerve and associated lumbar plexus nerve blocks under ultrasonic guidance

The femoral nerve block is a useful anesthetic adjunct for many surgical procedures of the lower extremity. Although this procedure can be performed based on surface anatomy and nerve stimulation, clinicians are often challenged in patients with poor landmarks, obesity, and anatomic variations. Recent reports demonstrate the striking ability of ultrasound to image neural structures and associated fascial planes. Ultrasound has emerged as an important tool in regional anesthesia and its applications are still evolving. Ultrasound guidance has been shown to improve onset time and reduce the volume of local anesthetic solutions required to implement block placement and the incidence of inadvertent vascular punctures during the placement of femoral nerve blocks. In this article, we describe current approaches for blockade of the femoral nerve and associated elements of the lumbar plexus (lateral femoral cutaneous nerve of the thigh and saphenous nerve) with ultrasound guidance. We also describe the use of ultrasound for related procedures including lumbar plexus block per se and continuous femoral nerve block techniques. By development of ultrasound-guided techniques, we hope to improve efficacy and reduce complications of a wide variety of peripheral nerve blocks.
Approximation Approach to Problem of Large-Scale Pavement Maintenance and Rehabilitation

This study focuses on large-scale pavement maintenance and rehabilitation planning. Pavement agencies usually deal with large and diverse networks of thousands of pavement sections. The complexity of pavement maintenance and rehabilitation planning increases exponentially with the size of the network. Exact optimization methods designed for small-scale problems thus suffer from dimensionality, which significantly compromises the ability to solve such problems in a reasonable time period. Consequently, such problems should be approached from the technique of approximation. A method with the Lagrangian relaxation technique and a branch-and-cut algorithm is proposed for use as a decomposition scheme for pavement maintenance and rehabilitation planning problems when the size of the problem poses a major hurdle for its solution. The proposed approach first decomposes the network (original problem) into individual sections (subproblems) and then solves the subproblems separately. As shown in the case study, the...
Understanding the Effects of Marine Biodiversity on Communities and Ecosystems

There is growing interest in the effects of changing marine biodiversity on a variety of community properties and ecosystem processes such as nutrient use and cycling, productivity, stability, and trophic transfer. We review published marine experiments that manipulated the number of species, genotypes, or functional groups. This research reveals several emerging generalities. In studies of primary producers and sessile animals, diversity often has a weak effect on production or biomass, especially relative to the strong effect exerted by individual species. However, sessile taxon richness did consistently decrease variability in community properties, and increased resistance to, or recovery from disturbance or invasion. Multitrophic-level studies indicate that, relative to depauperate assemblages of prey species, diverse ones (a) are more resistant to top-down control, (b) use their own resources more completely, and (c) increase consumer fitness. In contrast, predator diversity can either increase or decrease the strength of top-down control because of omnivory and because interactions among predators can have positive and negative effects on herbivores. Recognizing that marine and terrestrial approaches to understanding diversity-function relationships are converging, we close with suggestions for future research that apply across habitats.
Improving machine translation by showing two outputs

We propose to improve real-time communication between people who do not share a common language by foregrounding potential problems in machine translation. We developed a prototype chat tool that displays two parallel translations of each chat turn, with the thought that comparing the translations might both highlight problems and provide resources for resolving them. We conducted a user study to investigate how people use and like such an interface compared to a standard one-translation interface. On balance, users preferred two translations to one, using them to both notice differences and infer meaning from uncertain translations, with no increase in workload. This suggests that this interface may help improve cross-lingual communication in practical applications and lays the groundwork for a larger design space around systems that highlight possible errors to support communication.
Localization of barriers to water flow in toad urinary bladder.

Abstract Although it is well accepted that vasopressin (ADH) increases the permeability to water of the toad bladder granular cell's luminal membrane, recent studies have suggested that regulation also takes place at an additional “postluminal” site within the epithelial granular cell. These studies are based upon the observation that a number of experimental maneuvers can alter tissue permeability to water, but do not change the number of particle aggregates observed on the protoplasmic face of the granular cell's luminal membrane with freeze-fracture electron microscopy. These aggregates are believed by many investigators to mediate the transport of water across the luminal membrane. The dissociation between permeability and aggregate frequency described above has been variously interpreted as the consequence of changes in the permeability of the aggregates themselves, or of changes in the permeability of a “postluminal” barrier that is functionally in series with the luminal membrane. We attempted to distinguish between these 2 possibilities by studying paired toad bladders during 3 protocols that alter vasopressin-stimulated water flow across the intact tissue without altering aggregate frequency. Estimates of the permeability of postluminal barriers were obtained by exposing the luminal surface to amphotericin B, an antibiotic that forms water-permeant channels in the luminal membrane. Of the 3 protocols, only diminishing bladder filling volume decreased the water flow elicited by luminal amphotericin B, suggesting that only that protocol indeed decreased the permeability of some postluminal barrier. The other 2 protocols, increasing PCO 2 and repeatedly stimulating the bladder with vasopressin, did not alter amphotericin B-elicited flow, suggesting that postluminal barriers were not altered by these 2 protocols. We thus conclude that a decrease in luminal membrane aggregate permeability or a decreased frequency of fusion of aggregate-rich tubules to the luminal membrane mediates the decreased flow-response in the latter 2 protocols, and not modulation of a postluminal membrane barrier.
An information theoretic perspective over an extremal entropy inequality

This paper focuses on developing an alternative proof for an extremal entropy inequality, originally presented in [1]. The proposed alternative proof is simply based on the classical entropy power inequality and the data processing inequality. Compared with the proofs in [1], the proposed alternative proof is simpler, more direct, and information theoretic, and presents the advantage of providing the structure of the optimal solution covariance matrix. Also, the proposed proof might also be used as a novel method to address applications such as calculation of the vector Gaussian broadcast channel capacity, establishing a lower bound for the achievable rate of distributed source coding with a single quadratic distortion constraint, and the secrecy capacity of the Gaussian wire-tap channel.
Objective tremor registration during DBS surgery for essential tremor.

Abstract Essential Tremor (ET) is characterized by a 4–12-Hz postural and kinetic tremor, most commonly affecting the upper limbs. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) of the thalamus (Vim) has been found to be highly effective in severe/refractory forms of ET. Intra-operative assessment of tremor is performed using clinical methods based on patient and physician perception of tremor intensity. We present for the first time the case of a patient whose tremor was objectively monitored/quantified pre- and intra-operatively using device-based tremor registration to supplement clinical measures. We present the case of a 76-year-old right-handed woman that received unilateral (left-sided) DBS of the ventrointermediate (Vim) nucleus of thalamus (Vim) for medically refractory ET. Tremor was monitored with an accelerometer-based Tremor Pen ® , which is part of a simple portable device (CATSYS 2000 System ® , Danish Product Development Ltd., DK, www.catsys.dk). The patient was asked to perform tasks for tremor evaluation before and during thalamic DBS. Tremor quantification revealed a significant improvement (34.7-fold) in the contralateral (right) limb following macro-stimulation. No significant improvement was registered in the ipsilateral (non-operated) side. Simple electronic tremor registration methods during DBS of the Vim nucleus of the thalamus may supplement the existing methodology that is solely based on subjective measures derived from clinical observations.
Cytoreduction surgery reduces systemic myeloid suppressor cell populations and restores intratumoral immunotherapy effectiveness

Multiple immunotherapy approaches have improved adaptive anti-tumor immune responses in patients with early stage disease; however, results have been less dramatic when treating patients with late stage disease. These blunted responses are likely due to a host of factors, including changes in the tumor microenvironment and systemic immunosuppressive features, which accompany advanced tumor states. We hypothesized that cytoreductive surgery could control these immunosuppressive networks and restore the potency of immunotherapy in advanced disease scenarios. To test these hypotheses, two representative intratumoral immunotherapies (an adenoviral vector encoding a suicide gene, AdV-tk, or a type-I interferon, Ad.IFNα) were tested in murine models of lung cancer. Cytoreductive surgery was performed following treatment of advanced tumors. Mechanistic underpinnings were investigated using flow cytometry, in vivo leukocyte depletion methods and in vivo tumor neutralization assays. AdV-tk and Ad.IFNα were effective in treating early lung cancers, but had little anti-tumor effects in late stage cancers. Interestingly, in late stage scenarios, surgical cytoreduction unmasked the anti-tumor potency of both immunotherapeutic approaches. Immune mechanisms that explained restoration in anti-tumor immune responses included increased CD8 T-cell trafficking and reduced myeloid derived suppressor cell populations. This study demonstrates that surgical resection combined with immunotherapy may be a rational therapeutic option for patients with advanced stage cancer.
Quantitative measurement of retinal hemorrhages in suspected victims of child abuse.

Purpose Child abuse is one of the leading causes of death in early childhood. The presence of retinal hemorrhages often supports the diagnosis. The purpose of this study was to determine whether the specific measurement of retinal hemorrhages when present on fundus photography correlates with other clinical findings typically seen in children suspected of having been abused. Methods The medical records of children with retinal hemorrhages who were suspected of being victims of abusive head trauma from June 2003 to June 2013 and who had widefield retinal photography performed were retrospectively reviewed. Data collected included hemorrhage-covered percentage (HCP) of the central retina (posterior pole or 40° circle centered on fovea) measured by ImageJ in relation to death, length of hospital stay, presence of abnormal findings on neuroimaging or skeletal survey, and definite versus possible abuse. Results Significant difference in retinal hemorrhage measured on fundus photography was found in patients with axial skeletal fracture ( P = 0.016), signs of severe brain trauma on neuroimaging ( P = 0.014) and definite versus possible abuse ( P = 0.023). No correlation of quantitative measurement of the retinal hemorrhage to length of hospital stay, death, or the presence of skull fracture was found in this cohort. Conclusions The quantitative measurement of total retinal hemorrhage when present on fundus photography centered on posterior pole in children suspected of having been abused correlated with some but not all findings typically seen in abused children.
An Internet-based Accounting Information Systems Project

This paper describes a student project assignment used in an accounting information systems course. We are now truly immersed in the internet age, and while many required accounting information systems courses and textbooks introduce database design, accounting software development, cloud computing, and internet security, projects involving the actual integration of these topics with accounting concepts in a single comprehensive student project on the internet are uncommon. The project described gives students experience and knowledge of an internet-based accounting system using an online database. Although this project was used in an accounting information systems course, it could also be utilized in other courses such as introductory database management systems, advanced web design, financial technology systems, or introductory information technology. The project can be easily modified to align with the experience and sophistication of the students taking the course.
Cross-cultural cinematic communication: learning from the information design process for a Sino-American film competition

This article examines the 2014 Sino-American University Student Digital Micro Film Competition, a collaboration developed and administered between the University of Central Florida in the United States and Shanghai University in the People's Republic of China (PRC). By using qualitative text analysis and visual content analysis to review key materials and events from this case, the researchers studied information design and cross-cultural communication practices of various aspects of the partnership. The resulting analysis reveals unique information design challenges associated with cultural differences in communication practices, visual design, and administrative style. The summary of the case and the results of the related research presented here also provide readers with information design strategies that can facilitate design practices---and the associated coordination of event planning---across different cultural groups.
Exploring surfers’ perceptions of municipal regulations using grounded theory

The growing popularity of surfing has created management challenges for administrators who want to ensure the enjoyment and safety of beach goers. Virginia Beach, Virginia is one place where surfing has been popular for many years. We explored local resident surfers’ opinions on municipal surfing regulations through focus groups. Using grounded theory, we developed the Surfer Perceptions and Navigation of Regulations Model based on the following themes: positive aspects of regulations, regulations leading to crowding in the surfing areas, enforcement of the surfing regulations and confusion about the regulations and surfers’ navigation of surfing regulations. While we discovered similarities with our findings and other concepts in the recreation literature (crowding, displacement and recreational conflict), we also found support for our results in the surf culture literature. The results of this study could be used to inform quantitative research on surf management practices.
Thinking Like a Chemist: Development of a Chemistry Card-Sorting Task To Probe Conceptual Expertise

An underlying goal in most chemistry curricula is to enable students to think like chemists, yet there is much evidence to suggest that students can learn to solve problems without thinking conceptually like a chemist. There are few tools, however, that assess whether students are learning to think like Ph.D. faculty, putative experts in the field. Here, we present a card-sorting task that probes how individuals organize information about problems in chemistry. Chemistry faculty tend to organize around “deep” features centered on fundamental ideas in chemistry while novices tend to organize around “surface” features such as problem presentation or specific vocabulary. We used established statistical techniques from card-sorting tasks in other fields and introduce a new quantitative measure that compares individual performance on the sorting task to faculty and novices that is hypothesis-independent. Initial results indicate that the card-sorting task is effective at distinguishing between populations of f...
Research Simulator And Method Of Optimizing The Human-Machine Interface At Military Aircraft 1

One of the optimization of human-technical system interface main goals is to minimize the human-operator workload. Applying that attitude, one can avoid the quick fatigue of that operator. It allows for effective and long lasting performance of control task, also in the presence of time deficit. The idea of system for optimizing the human operator-military aircraft interface has been presented. That system consists of research-engineering flight simulator and interface optimization technology.
Double shrinkage empirical Bayesian estimation for unknown and unequal variances

In this paper, we construct a point estimator when assuming unequal and unknown variances by using the empirical Bayes approach in the classical normal mean problem. The proposed estimator shrinks both means and variances, and is thus called the double shrinkage estimator. Extensive numerical studies indicate that the double shrinkage estimator has lower Bayes risk than the estimator which shrinks the means alone, and the naive estimator which has no shrinkage at all. We further use a spike-in data set to assess different estimating procedures. It turns out that our proposed estimator performs the best and is thus strongly recommended for applications. AMS 2000 subject classifications: Primary 60K35, 60K35; secondary 60K35.
Effects of Topically Applied Vitamin D during Corneal Wound Healing

Vitamin D is an important regulator of immune function and largely acts to dampen chronic inflammatory events in a variety of tissues. There is also accumulating evidence that vitamin D acts to enhance initial inflammation, beneficial during both infection and wound healing, and then promotes resolution and prevention of chronic, damaging inflammation. The current study examines the effect of topical vitamin D in a mouse of model of corneal epithelial wound healing, where acute inflammation is necessary for efficient wound closure. At 12 and 18 hours post-wounding, vitamin D treatment significantly delayed wound closure by ~17% and increased infiltration of neutrophils into the central cornea. Basal epithelial cell division, corneal nerve density, and levels of VEGF, TGFβ, IL-1β, and TNFα were unchanged. However, vitamin D increased the production of the anti-microbial peptide CRAMP 12 hours after wounding. These data suggest a possible role for vitamin D in modulating corneal wound healing and have important implications for therapeutic use of vitamin D at the ocular surface.
Review: Reflections on access: too vulnerable to research?

This manuscript brings to light two separate, but inter-related concepts of vulnerability and gate-keeping. These concepts are important for health care providers and researchers alike. Recruiting patients to participate in research projects has many challenges, especially when the focus population is deemed ‘‘vulnerable’’. The manuscript was derived from the researchers’ difficulty recruiting their target population of cancer patients with intellectual disabilities. The construct of vulnerability is very contextual and is subject to individual perceptions. The authors do a mini concept analysis to attempt to define the construct of vulnerability. The concept analysis caused me to reflect upon my own perceptions and preconceived notions of who I deem to be vulnerable. Regardless of my values and beliefs, these conceptions impact my treatment of these patients. The issue of vulnerability subsequently is followed by the construct of gate-keeping. I think that the authors make an excellent point by stating that we as health care providers (HCPs), in particular, nurses are one of the main gate-keepers to research access. The notion that we as nurses are socialised to be part of a caring profession makes it difficult to think that the nature of our protective actions could potentially cause harm. Upon reflection, instances of my patients with cancer and intellectual disabilities came to mind. I imagine that I myself in the gate-keeper role would also act similarly to the nurses in the paper. I would also have thought that the patients would become burdened by the research process and that I would be protecting the individual from any further affliction. However, this paper made me realise the importance of allowing the individual patient to have autonomy and the opportunity to make the decision to participate in research. This is especially important since patients deemed vulnerable typically have poorer outcomes and less research conducted about their specific needs.
The importance of extrinsic factors in the development of cancers

ABSTRACTThere was recently a debate on the relative importance of intrinsic versus extrinsic factors in cancer risk. We reported that extrinsic risk factors contribute substantially (more than 70–90%) to most common cancers. This finding promotes further research into the causes of cancer and how they could be prevented.
Experimental Study on SF_6 Decomposition Products Under the Stress of Electrical Arc

Faults or defects in SF6 switching equipment induce decomposition of SF6 gas.Correspondingly,the faults and defects can be diagnosed and located through detection of SF6 decomposition products.Experiments were conducted to obtain content variations of SF6 decomposition products under the stress of electrical arc in an SF6 switchgear with different current,arc time,and adsorbent.Content variation trend of SF6 decomposition products for a partial discharge fault and the influencing factors were analyzed.Thus,an effective means of fault diagnosis for SF6 switching equipment is provided.
A self-awareness intervention manipulation for heavy-drinking men's alcohol-related aggression toward women.

OBJECTIVE: The primary aim of the present investigation was to directly examine a theoretically based, self-awareness intervention manipulation for at-risk men's alcohol-related aggression toward women. This study was developed in response to a call in the literature for research to (a) empirically investigate specific intervention techniques that reduce aggression, and (b) identify in whom such interventions will have the greatest impact. METHOD: A community sample (77% African American) of 94 heavy-drinking males age 21 years and older (M = 35.61) completed a battery of questionnaires that assessed alcohol consumption and perpetration of aggression toward women during the past year as well as dispositional masculine gender role stress. Participants were randomly assigned to an intervention manipulation designed to focus attention onto inhibitory, self-awareness cues, or a control group. Following beverage consumption, participants were provoked with a gender-relevant provocation from a female confederate and participants' physical aggression was measured using a shock-based aggression task. RESULTS: Men who received the intervention manipulation, relative to control, enacted significantly less alcohol-related physical aggression toward the female confederate. This finding held for men who reported lower, but not higher, levels of masculine gender role stress. CONCLUSION: Findings support the development of interventions that aim to redirect intoxicated men's attention toward stimuli that are nonaggressive, nonprovocative, or prohibitive of aggressive behavior. However, caution is warranted that en masse dissemination of such interventions may not impact the most at-risk men for alcohol-related violence toward women. (PsycINFO Database Record(c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved). Language: en
The role of adrenergic and dopamine receptors.

Specific adrenergic antagonists and oral dopamine analogues offer a new approach to long-term management of patients with heart failure, but their safety and efficacy as chronic therapy remain to be established. By improving the hemodynamic status of these patients, we may improve their quality of life. The ultimate question is whether we are prolonging survival.
Modern management of penetrating tracheal injuries.

Complications after tracheal repair in the past have included wound infections, tracheal stenosis, “spitting” of sutures, and tracheoesophageal fistulas. Modern operative approaches have significan...
Legal Responses to IPR Infringement in Internet Sphere

The emergence of the Internet has changed the ways in which we create, distribute, access, and use information. The Internet provides manifold opportunities for users, operators, businesses, and the public at large for speedy, cheap, and global dissemination of information, knowledge, research, and entertainment. At the same time, it also poses complex conceptual and empirical challenges for intellectual property and related rights. Works of intellectual property can be digitized and transferred over the Internet. Many trademarks have been placed on it by the companies for advertising and marketing goods and services. In the field of copyright, a number of works of literature, film and art, and notably computer programs, have been transferred over the Internet. The patent system has also migrated onto the Internet. It is now popular for companies to patent their online business methods. In the Internet Sphere, the infringer can easily misdirect consumers to its website by using another’s trademark as a meta-tag, and it is also easy to copy and distribute other’s copyright materials unlawfully. Due to global nature of the Internet, an Internet IP infringement usually happens not only within one country but also across borders. All of these have raised many difficulties for the protection of IPRs in Internet sphere. Therefore everyone has been dubious of what the actual laws concerning Intellectual Property rights are in relation to Internet sphere. Today the Internet explosion has made the question of how to enforce IP law on a global scale as an imperative issue. In this Article, the author tries to accentuate the existing as well as changing IPR challenges brought about by the Internet and project what issues a national legislature should consider to meet the demands of the digital revolution. The core object of this study is to scrutinize the compelling factors behind the Intellectual Property Rights Infringements through the Internet and investigate the existing Legal Responses in International, Regional and Local levels. However, the findings demonstrate that mass-awareness, consensus and mutual co-operation among the developed and developing countries, proper enforcement of the existing laws as well as bringing amendments to some areas of Law can be cited as a potential solution.
Gastrointestinal endoscopy: A multidisciplinary approach. The role of the gastroenterologist and surgeon

Much has been written, and left unspoken, concerning conflict between gastroenterologists and surgeons regarding who should appropriately perform endoscopic procedures. Bitter turf and economic battles have occurred in some localities, and issues of training and credentials have been debated. In other regions, however, surgeons and gastroenterologists have put aside such issues and worked cooperatively to provide optimal care for their patients, using the unique skills and perspectives of each specialty. It is this multidisciplinary approach that offer the most potential for excellent patient care and future developments in the approach to gastrointestinal disease.
Discussing Future Goals and Legal Aspects of Health Care: Essential Steps in Transitioning Youth to Adult-Oriented Care:

Discussing realistic future goals with the adolescent alone and with family, and reviewing legal aspects of health care transition (HCT), are essential steps in the transition from pediatric to adult-oriented care. Secondary analysis of datasets from 2 studies related to HCT assessed differences in provider practice for youth with and without special health care needs (SHCNs). Across both datasets, between 57% and 68.6% of providers reported some discussion of future goals with adolescent or with family. However, only 28.6% to 31% of providers reported discussing future goals with youth with SHCNs alone. It was rare for providers to report discussing legal aspects of HCT with any youth. Findings identify a gap in discussing future goals and legal aspects of HCT, as part of routine care for adolescents. Additional research to understand barriers and improve likelihood of these steps within HCT is needed.
Apixaban (eliquis) for stroke prevention in atrial fibrillation.

Apixaban is at least as effective as aspirin or warfarin for preventing strokes in high-risk patients with nonvalvular atrial fibrillation, especially those who cannot or will not take warfarin. It is slightly less likely to cause major bleeding and may have better compliance because it does not require frequent laboratory monitoring. However, apixaban is significantly more expensive than warfarin or aspirin, and its anticoagulation effect cannot be reversed in the event of an emergency.