cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Expression of Activational Markers on Circulating Leukocytes from Baboons with Group A Streptococcal (GAS) Bacteremia

Recently, there has been an increase in the incidence of GAS infections associated with bacteremia, shock, acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS), renal failure, aggressive soft tissue destruction and high mortality. These severe infections, termed Streptococcal Toxic Shock Syndrome (StrepTSS), have now been described throughout the world. Epidemiologic studies suggest that strains causing such infection are more likely to produce pyrogenic exotoxin A or B, and to be M-type 1 or 3. The mechanisms whereby these and other GAS virulence factors cause shock and organ failure have not been determined, however exaggerated cellular immune responses resulting in hyperadhesion of leukocytes to activated endothelial cells and the dysregulated release of endogenous mediators likely play major roles. To investigate early cellular activational responses to GAS challenge, expression of leukocyte surface markers CD11a, CD11b, and HLA-DR were monitored by FACS in baboons challenged IV with a sublethal dose of an M3, SPE A+, SPE B+ clinical isolate of GAS.
Development of a Reversible Vas Deferens Occlusion Device. VII. Physical and Microscopic Observations after Long-Term Implantation of Flexible Prosthetic Devices*†

Flexible prosthetic devices developed previously to reversibly block sperm transport through the vas deferens were implanted in the vasa deferentia of dogs or kept in a semen bath for a 6-month period. Dimensional measurements, flow characteristics, leakage tests, and detent action force tests to displace the valve stem were performed with the valves. No changes occurred in any of these parameters with the exception of a decrease in the force required to change the position of the valve stem. This explains the occasional passage of spermatozoa through certain closed devices after they have been implanted for long periods of time. Histologic studies indicated that the same types of genital tract changes are associated with an implanted device as with vasectomy, and that they occur with approximately equal frequencies. Scanning electron microscope studies showed (1) excellent tissue ingrowth into the Dacron velour material of the implanted device; (2) the build-up of material, consisting in part of spermatozoa, in the device lumen and on the valve stem; and (3) the absence of surface degradation of either the Silastic material or the valve stem of the device. It is concluded that no irreversible tissue damage is caused by the long-term implantation of flexible prosthetic devices into the vas deferens.
Semiconductor-laser endophotocoagulation of the retina

Laser photocoagulation of the retina using an intraocular probe (endophotocoagulation) has become an important therapeutic tool in vitreoretinal surgery. The Ar-ion laser, the source most frequently used for endophotocoagulation, is an expensive low-efficiency device. Typical powers used in Ar-ion laser photocoagulation are of the order of a few hundred milliwatts in a 100-μm diam spot. Semiconductor diode laser devices producing powers of 200 mW at 780–840 nm have recently become commercially available and offer the potential of replacing expensive water-cooled Ar-ion lasers as sources for retinal photocoagulation. The feasibility of this application of semiconductor diode lasers depends on both the light intensity that can be delivered to the retina and the absorption of the retinal pigment epithelium at the laser wavelength.
A mobile agent based communication protocol to optimize message delivery cost

This paper proposes a communication protocol for mobile agents.Proposed protocol selects optimal transmission cost path for message delivery.The protocol is generalized for all applications regardless of MRR.We used NS3 to simulate our communication protocol. Agents are applicable to many computing areas like distributed systems because of their autonomy and mobility factors. Reliable and efficient communication between agents in a mobile agent system is a challenging task. To deliver the messages efficiently and reliably, mobile agent communication schemes generally have two phases. The first phase is agent tracking phase which deals with locating the agent current location. Second phase deals with the delivery of message to the agent at its current location. The existing approaches suffer from high communication overhead or problems such as message chase problem, triangle problem, or delayed delivery of messages. Approaches such as I-update deliver the message very efficiently without any overhead in message delivery phase but increase the memory and network overhead in agent tracking phase. In this paper, we present a novel approach that minimizes message delivery delay while maintaining a balance between the costs of agent tracking phase and message delivery phase. Our approach enhances the home agency scheme by maintaining track of agent migrations and costs of message delivery through different channels at the home agency. This approach allows the home agency to send the message to an agent via optimal transmission cost path, which minimizes message delivery delay and reduces the probability of occurrence of message chase problem.
Hardinge’s Imperial Delhi Committee and his Architectural Board: The Perfect Building Establishment for the Perfect Colonial Capital

While colonial officials alluded to an imperial future where Indians would one day have a much greater voice in their own governance, their reform rhetoric continued to be built upon traditional imperial assumptions not only about Indians but also about themselves. New Delhi’s progressive vision, so well argued by Hardinge’s government and its parliamentary supporters, began to fracture once those high ideals met the exigencies of British colonial rule in India. Much like the high modernist ventures that James Scott discusses in Seeing Like a State, a project that started with such high principles quickly fell prey to hubris and racial and cultural assumptions.
TGF beta regulation of cell proliferation.

The beta-type transforming growth factors (TGF beta) are potent inhibitors of cell proliferation. The mechanisms of TGF beta growth inhibition have been investigated. In skin keratinocytes, TGF beta 1 rapidly suppresses c-myc expression at the level of transcriptional initiation, and expression of c-myc was shown to be necessary for proliferation of these cells. Overexpression of c-myc, using an inducible construct, blocks growth inhibition by TGF beta 1. In 11.5 day p.c. lung bud organ cultures, TGF beta 1 inhibits tracheobronchial epithelial development, including branching morphogenesis. At this stage of development, the tracheobronchial epithelia express N-myc, but not c-myc, TGF beta 1 was shown to markedly inhibit N-myc expression in epithelia of the lung bud organ cultures. N-myc gene knockout experiments by others have shown that N-myc is required for branching morphogenesis of the tracheobronchial tree. The data indicate that suppression of expression of either N-myc or c-myc may play a role in TGF beta growth inhibition. To study the role of TGF beta 1 in normal mammary development and in mammary neoplasia, we have constructed three transgenic mouse lines that express a simian TGF beta 1S223/225 mutated to produce a constitutively active product under the control of the MMTV enhancer/promoter. Expression of the transgene was associated with marked suppression of the normal pattern of mammary ductal tree development in female transgenics from all three lines. However, during pregnancy, alveolar outgrowths developed from the hypoplastic ductal tree, and lactation occurred. Unlike many other transgenic mouse models in which expression of TGF alpha or oncogenes under control of the MMTV promoter leads to mammary epithelial hyperplasia and increased tumor formation, the MMTV-TGF beta 1 transgene causes conditional hypoplasia of the mammary ductal tree. No spontaneous tumors have been detected in the MMTV-TGF beta 1 transgenic animals, indicating that overexpression of TGF beta 1 in mammary epithelia does not enhance, and may actually suppress, early stages of carcinoma development. Other studies have shown that overexpression of TGF beta 1 in carcinoma cells enhances tumorigenicity and metastatic spread. We propose that TGF beta has a bifunctional role in carcinogenesis, retarding carcinoma development but enhancing progression once neoplastic transformation has occurred and the growth inhibitory response to TGF beta has been lost.
Liver Microvascular Injury and Thrombocytopenia of Antibody–Calicheamicin Conjugates in Cynomolgus Monkeys—Mechanism and Monitoring

Purpose: Adverse reactions reported in patients treated with antibody-calicheamicin conjugates such as gemtuzumab ozogamicin (Mylotarg) and inotuzumab ozogamicin include thrombocytopenia and sinusoidal obstruction syndrome (SOS). The objective of this experimental work was to investigate the mechanism for thrombocytopenia, characterize the liver injury, and identify potential safety biomarkers.Experimental Design: Cynomolgus monkeys were dosed intravenously at 6 mg/m2/dose once every 3 weeks with a nonbinding antibody-calicheamicin conjugate (PF-0259) containing the same linker-payload as gemtuzumab ozogamicin and inotuzumab ozogamicin. Monkeys were necropsied 48 hours after the first administration (day 3) or 3 weeks after the third administration (day 63).Results: PF-0259 induced acute thrombocytopenia (up to 86% platelet reduction) with nadirs on days 3 to 4. There was no indication of effects on megakaryocytes in bone marrow or activation of platelets in peripheral blood. Microscopic evaluation of liver from animals necropsied on day 3 demonstrated midzonal degeneration and loss of sinusoidal endothelial cells (SECs) associated with marked platelet accumulation in sinusoids. Liver histopathology on day 63 showed variable endothelial recovery and progression to a combination of sinusoidal capillarization and sinusoidal dilation/hepatocellular atrophy, consistent with early SOS. Among biomarkers evaluated, there were early and sustained increases in serum hyaluronic acid (HA) that correlated well with serum aspartate aminotransferase and liver microscopic changes, suggesting that HA may be a sensitive diagnostic marker of the liver microvascular injury.Conclusions: These data support the conclusion that target-independent damage to liver SECs may be responsible for acute thrombocytopenia (through platelet sequestration in liver sinusoids) and development of SOS. Clin Cancer Res; 23(7); 1760-70. ©2016 AACR.
Abstract 689: Effective Patient Radiation Doses and Skin Organ Doses at Coronary CT Angiography and Invasive Coronary Angiography

Purpose: To compare overall effective patient radiation doses and skin organ doses at coronary CT angiography (CTA) with those received at conventional invasive coronary angiography (ICA). Methods: We obtained data for 104 consecutive patients undergoing coronary CTA on a 64-slice CT scanner (Somatom Sensation Cardiac, Siemens). The effective patient radiation dose was quantified using the Dose Length Product (DLP), which was converted into a corresponding value of effective dose equivalent using a conversion coefficient of 19 μSv/mGy-cm. The average skin organ dose was quantified using the volume Computed Tomography Dose Index (CTDIvol). We also obtained data on 102 consecutive patients who underwent diagnostic ICA on a single plane unit (Axiom Artis, Siemens). Data were obtained pertaining to a reference dose 15 cm from the isocenter that estimates the point where the x-ray beam enters the patient as well as to the number of runs, fluoroscopy time and Kerma-Area Product (KAP). Values of KAP were converted into a corresponding value of effective dose using a conversion coefficient of 180 μSv/Gy-cm2. Results : The mean DLP value for coronary CTA was 1,120 ±200 mGy-cm with an average patient effective dose equivalent of 21 mSv. For ICA, the mean number of imaging runs was 12.2 ± 7.6 and the mean fluoroscopy imaging time was 9.9 ± 11.5 minutes. For these patients, the average KAP was 84.1 ± 83.7 Gy-cm2 with an average patient effective dose equivalent of 15 mSv. The mean CTDIvol for coronary CTA was 63 ± 7 mGy. The median CTDIvol was 58 mGy with 10th and 90th percentile values of 58 and 69 mGy, respectively. For coronary CTA examinations, the skin organ dose in patients is approximately 2.5 times higher than CTDIvol, and the average skin organ dose is thus estimated at ~150 mGy. For ICA, the average reference point dose was 1,420 ± 1,440 mGy. The median reference point dose was 960 mGy with 10th and 90th percentile values of 300 and 2,940 mGy, respectively. Conclusion: Average effective patient radiation doses at coronary CTA are somewhat higher than those of ICA, but the latter show much more variation between patients. Average skin doses at ICA are an order of magnitude higher than those associated with coronary CTA and may exceed the threshold dose (2,000 mGy) for inducing skin damage.
Sense and Settling

Though companionate marriage was becoming more prevalent in the long eighteenth century, marriages for economic convenience or gain were still common and are reflected by Austen’s minor women who settle. In Pride and Prejudice Charlotte Lucas needs a husband, and she sees marriage as a pragmatic transaction. The intrinsic value of the Darcy marriage is privileged over the expressed value of the Collins marriage. This representation is complicated with the wealthy Maria Bertram in Mansfield Park who marries a buffoon merely to increase her already high expressed value and then takes ownership over her own body, transgressing both the moral code and the rules of that market. Maria’s dilemma emphasizes a woman’s lack of control over her place on the marriage market while revealing the importance of preserving personal credit (intrinsic value) in order to retain financial credit and thus her expressed value. The issue is further complicated in Emma with Jane Fairfax’s story, which reflects another type of ownership of a woman’s body. Her equation of the governess profession to the slave trade might also reflect her discomfort with her alternate choice—marriage to Frank Churchill. None of these women finds independence within her marital choice, and each is relegated to a minor space in Austen’s novels, revealing the ambiguous value of women within the marriage market.
Endovaskuläre Eingriffe in der interventionellen Neuroradiologie

Die interventionelle Neuroradiologie (INR) hat sich in den letzten 10 Jahren insbesondere in der Aneurysmabehandlung und in der akuten ischamischen Schlaganfallbehandlung etabliert, sodass die Zahl der Eingriffe, aber auch die Standorte mit spezieller neuroradiologischer Expertise zugenommen haben. Viele Eingriffe sind mittlerweile als Routine einzuordnen, sodass auch Routine und Prozessoptimierung fur die interdisziplinare Zusammenarbeit zwischen Neuroradiologie und Anasthesie Voraussetzung fur Patientenschutz und einen reibungslosen Ablauf sind. Routine bedeutet hierbei, dass das Wissen um die Erkrankung und die Art der Behandlung sowie die gegenseitigen Anforderungen und Erwartungen von Interventionalist und Anasthesist bekannt sind. Zu differenzieren gilt der Notfalleingriff, bei dem die zeitlichen Ablaufe kurz gehalten werden mussen, von dem elektiven Eingriff, der geplant unter optimierten Bedingungen ablaufen kann. Im vorliegenden Beitrag werden allgemeine Voraussetzungen hierfur benannt. Diskutiert werden die zwei haufigsten Interventionen: Behandlungen von Aneurysmen und Rekanalisationsbehandlungen beim akuten Schlaganfall.
Epigenomics of Retinal Development in Mice and Humans

In this issue of Neuron, Aldiri et al. (2017) present an analysis of epigenetic changes during retinal development, and use these data to probe reprogramming of retinal iPSC cells, as well as the origin of retinoblastoma cells.
Event-sampled control of quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle using neural networks

In this paper, an event-sampled output-feedback neural network (NN) controller for a quadrotor unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) is considered. First an observer design is presented, allowing the need for a full knowledge of the state-vector to be avoided. Next, a kinematic controller is designed in order to find a desired translational velocity; the information provided by the kinematic controller will be used in the design of a virtual controller wherein a desired rotational velocity will be determined such that the UAV's orientation converges to its desired value. Finally, the information from the observer, the kinematic controller, and the virtual controller are used in the design of a dynamic controller where NNs will be implemented to approximate uncertainties in the UAV's dynamics; the signals generated by the dynamic controller will ensure that the desired lift velocity and the desired rotational velocities are tracked. In all these designs, the effects of sampling errors are highlighted. Next, by designing an appropriate event-execution law, the sampling errors are shown to be bounded during the inter-event period. Finally, the effectiveness of the proposed event-sampled controller will be demonstrated with simulation results.
Sense of Community among Female Residents of a Trauma-Informed Sober Living Home

Background: Substance use disorders (SUDs) and domestic and/or sexual violence (DSV) co-occur at high rates. Although some studies have examined sober living homes (SLHs), no research to date has evaluated SLHs specifically designed for women with histories of SUDS and DSV. Objective: The purpose of this article is to present data from an exploratory analysis of the association between sense of community (SOC) and mental health symptoms within a unique trauma-informed and gender-responsive SLH (i.e., Support, Education, Empowerment, and Directions [SEEDs]). Method: Participants included current or former residents of SEEDs (N = 28) who completed surveys assessing SOC and mental health symptoms. The sample was predominantly White (85.7%), heterosexual (64.3%), low income (71.4% < $20,000 per year), had children (67.9%), and reported a history of incarceration (71.4%). Results: On average women reported high levels of SOC. Higher SOC was related to lower posttraumatic stress and depression symptoms ...
Breaking Down Barriers and Building Bridges: Transformative Practices in Community- and School-Based Urban Teacher Preparation.

Attracting and retaining high-quality teachers is especially challenging in urban districts. It is in these communities where teacher candidates must begin their preparation. This article provides ...
Modern PID Control: Stabilizing Sets and Multiple Performance Specifications

In this chapter, we introduce some recent results on PID controller design. The new approach first computes the entire set of PID controllers that stabilize a given plant. Within this set, controllers that simultaneously satisfy some performance requirements such as gain, phase, and H ∞ margins are computed. The characterization for PI controllers is in a quasi-closed form while that for PID controllers involves the solution of a linear programming problem. This chapter also shows that the complete set of stabilizing PID controllers for a finite dimensional LTI plant, possibly cascaded with a delay, can be calculated directly from the frequency response (Nyquist/Bode) data P(jω) for ω∈[0,∞) without the need of producing an identified analytical model. The solutions have important new features. For example, the solution identifies, in the case of PID controllers, an exact low frequency band over which the plant data must be known with accuracy and beyond which the plant information may be rough or approximate. These constitute important new guidelines for identification when the latter is to be used for control design.
Induction of cytochrome P-450-dependent sulfonylurea metabolism in Streptomyces griseolus

Inducible cometabolism of several sulfonylurea herbicides by Streptomyces griseolus has been shown to occur by hydroxylation, O-dealkylation, or deesterification reactions. Only after growth of the bacterium in the presence of sulfonylurea did cell-free extracts exhibit NAD(P)H-dependent sulfonylurea metabolism. These extracts were shown to contain elevated levels of soluble cytochrome P-450 and exhibit sulfonylurea induced difference spectra consistent with binding of substrate to cytochrome(s) P-450. These results establish the presence of an inducible cytochrome P-450-dependent sulfonylurea metabolizing system in S. griseolus.
Do Post-breast Cancer Diagnosis Toenail Trace Element Concentrations Reflect Prediagnostic Concentrations?

Background:Exposure to trace elements may affect health, including breast cancer risk. Trace element levels in toenails are potentially useful biomarkers of exposure, but their reliability is not established. We assessed the reproducibility of toenail element concentrations over time and whether con
Deformation mechanisms and scaling relations in the mechanical response of nano-porous Au

Abstract We report a series of atomistic virtual mechanical tests on digitally created samples of nanoporous gold with 60% porosity, and average ligament diameters varying from 5.5 nm to 14.4 nm. Corresponding tests were also conducted for nanowires of equivalent surface to volume ratio and crystalline orientation. The validity of the Gibson-Ashby (G-A) scaling relations for the elastic and plastic behavior of the NP-Au structures is discussed. Tension/compression asymmetry in the plastic behavior was observed in both the nanoporous samples as well as the nanowires. Consistent with previous experimental and computational studies, the asymmetry becomes increasingly evident for the smaller ligament diameters, clearly pointing to capillary effects for large surface to volume ratios. Based on the present simulation results, a simple analytical model is presented for predicting the tension/compression asymmetry. The effects of internal ligament stresses on the deformation mechanisms and dislocation activity in the NP-Au structures are also discussed.
Distributed Optimization for Convex Mixed-Integer Programs based on Projected Subgradient Algorithm

Convex Mixed-Integer Program (MIP) has received extensive attention due to its wide applications. This paper proposes a distributed optimization algorithm based on Projected Subgradient Algorithm (PSA) to solve general convex MIPs. We first decouple the feasible region as the intersection of multiple local convex constraints and the relaxed integrality constraints. Then an auxiliary variable vector is assigned to each decoupled constraint with a consensus constraint to keep equivalence. A Distributed Projected Subgradient Algorithm (DPSA) is proposed to solve the reformulated problem. The updates of the auxiliary variables associated with the convex local constraints as well as the integrality constraint are implemented in a parallel way, followed by the gossip step to drive all auxiliary variable sets into consensus. While this algorithm applies to general convex MIPs, special attention is paid to quadratic and linear constraints in order to obtain a closed-form solution for each subproblem. While convergence of such DPSA for convex problems has been studied, the presence of the integrality constraint makes it inapplicable. Consequently, convergence of the proposed DPSA and properties at the converging point under certain assumptions is presented. Numerical results on maximum clique problem are provided to sustain the effectiveness of the proposed algorithm.
Empowering Residents to Process Distressing Events: A Debriefing Workshop.

Introduction Adverse events are common in medical training and practice, which can lead to distress among providers. One method of coping with distress is debriefing, which has been shown to improv...
Fabricating a new heart: One step closer to reality

Cardiomyocytes and endothelial cells printed in omentum-derived hydrogels generate perfusable thick heart tissue that can be implanted in rodents.
Estimating increasing diversity and dissipative loss of critical metals in the aluminum automotive sector

Abstract As the demand for and consumption of products and services grow in the US, so does the concern for sustainable material usage. In the automotive industry, major sustainability issues revolve around advocating for improved fuel economy and the incorporation of materials with higher recyclability in order to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. A popular strategy to achieve this in the automotive industry is light-weighting. Many studies in this field are focused on the environmental benefits of light-weighting, that is, how replacement of traditional steel in the automotive industry with aluminum, for instance, will help reduce the amount of CO2-eq emissions in the environment. The increasing use of aluminum in the industry for differing automotive applications broadens the range of alloying elements. Unfortunately, many of these elements are dissipatively lost and also deemed critical. Furthermore, some of the alloying elements accumulate as tramp (unwanted) elements in the secondary aluminum stream, hence posing as a barrier to effective recycling, thus leading to material and economic losses. We quantified the material losses and analyzed the economic losses attributed to the dissipation of critical metals and also examined the attendant accumulation of tramp elements in the recycled aluminum stream. Our results indicate that to achieve a more circular economy requires investment and further development of a) operational blending and batching strategies that comprehend alloying additions and the inherent variability of their actual composition, and b) economically feasible material identification and sorting technologies that will help in abating these material losses and associated economic losses.
Public views about quality of life and treatment withdrawal in infants: limitations and directions for future research.

Work done within the realm of what is sometimes called ‘descriptive ethics’ brings two questions readily to mind: How can empirical findings, in general, inform normative debates? and How can these empirical findings, in particular, inform the normative debate at hand? Brick et al 1 confront these questions in their novel investigation of public views about lives worth living and the permissibility of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from critically ill infants. Mindful of the is-ought gap, the authors suggest modestly that their data ‘may be useful when constructing guidelines for clinical practice’. In this commentary, I consider some potential limitations on the generalisability of these data in the context of policy and clinical practice, limitations which may in turn serve as directions for future empirical research. The authors’ study presented participants six case scenarios, five of which involved the possibility of withdrawing life-sustaining treatment from critically ill infants. The results revealed that “[a]lmost all respondents agreed that at some level of quality of life, life may be of no benefit or worse than death for an infant” and that “participants significantly favoured withdrawal of treatment for the most severe cases.” One salient detail in these scenarios …
Relationships between absenteeism, conservation group membership, and land management among family forest owners

Absentee landowners, or those who do not live on their forestland, own approximately 117 million acres of private forestland in the U.S. Thus, their land management decisions and activities influence the flow of forest-based goods and services. We explore the question of whether absentee family forest owners are less active land managers than resident landowners and whether membership in conservation organizations is associated with higher levels of land management activity by absentee owners. To examine these questions, we administered a mail survey to randomly-selected family forest landowners in Indiana. While we found some support for the contention that absentee owners are less active forestland managers than resident owners, we also found they are not necessarily inactive landowners. We found absentee owners were less likely to have: inspected their forestland for invasive plants, pulled or cut invasive plants, used herbicides to kill invasive plants, reduced fire hazard, or grazed livestock than resident owners. Absentee owners were more likely to be enrolled in the Indiana Classified Forest and Wildlands Program, a preferential forest property tax program. Absentee owners who are members of a conservation organization were more likely than absentee non-member owners to have undertaken a variety of land management activities, including: undertaking wildlife habitat improvement projects, inspecting their forestland for invasive plants, pulling or cutting invasive plants, enrolling in the Indiana Classified Forest and Wildlands program, and obtaining a management plan.
Stuck on the wrong track: 20 years of euro disillusion, denial, and delusion

This contribution assesses the functioning of Europe's Economic and Monetary Union (EMU) during the first 20 years of the euro's existence. It argues that two formative intellectual currents converged at Maastricht to shape the design and reception of the euro regime: ordoliberalism and neoliberalism. Germany's ordoliberalism inspired and shaped the euro regime design. Neoliberalism fashioned the reception of what was agreed at Maastricht under the influence of Bundesbank dogma and power. As a product of the zeitgeist, Europe got stuck with a deeply flawed euro regime. The Maastricht Treaty institutionalized an asymmetric (growth-unfriendly) policy regime. This suited the macroeconomic mainstream well, fighting the â€˜1970s stagflation warâ€™ for the past 40 years. Twenty years of euro disillusion have produced the exact opposite: â€˜stagdeflation.â€™
A New Sciuravid Rodent (Mammalia) from the Early Eocene (Bridgerian) and the Sciuravid-Eomyid Transition

A new genus and species of sciuravid rodent, Perasciuravus mcintoshi, is named from the late Bridgerian (early Eocene) of the Washakie Formation, southcentral Wyoming. The most distinguishing characters of the species (and genus) are that it retains the primitive condition of the zygomasseteric structure for rodents, characteristic of sciuravids, but has a more specialized dental morphology of the cheek teeth (complete ectolophids and hypolophids on the lower molars; complete metalophs and protolophs on the upper molars) typical of the later-occurring family of geomyoid rodents, the Eomyidae. Perasciuravus is viewed as morphologically transitional between the Sciuravidae and the Eomyidae. Its occurrence also overlaps the temporal range of the Sciuravidae (Wasatchian [early Eocene] to Duchesnean [early-late Eocene]) and predates the first occurrence of the Eomyidae (Uintan [middle Eocene]).
Life History of an Omani Woman, Nursing Pioneer, and Nurse Leader.

This study explored the lived experiences of an Omani nursing pioneer and nurse leader whose life and career have evolved amidst a time of rapid modernization in Oman that began in 1970, widely known as the Omani Renaissance. The life history method of qualitative research was used to examine personal and institutional facilitators and barriers to professional development, as well as aspects of the history of the nursing profession and healthcare in Oman during this time. This paper provides insight about the successes and challenges she faced in choosing nursing and along her career path. Inductive thematic analysis revealed three dominant themes: opportunity, visionary, and nurse; with subthemes: national identity, country building, nursing pioneer, leadership, perseverance, resilience, mentors, advocacy, caring, and fulfillment. Conclusions from this study are that opportunities, personal attributes, and motivations shaped decisions about employment and played a role in overcoming barriers to professional development in the workforce.
TRF2 promotes dynamic and stepwise looping of POT1 bound telomeric overhang

Human telomeres are protected by shelterin proteins, but how telomeres maintain a dynamic structure remains elusive. Here, we report an unexpected activity of POT1 in imparting conformational dynamics of the telomere overhang, even at a monomer level. Strikingly, such POT1-induced overhang dynamics is greatly enhanced when TRF2 engages with the telomere duplex. Interestingly, TRF2, but not TRF2ΔB, recruits POT1-bound overhangs to the telomere ds/ss junction and induces a discrete stepwise movement up and down the axis of telomere duplex. The same steps are observed regardless of the length of the POT1-bound overhang, suggesting a tightly regulated conformational dynamic coordinated by TRF2 and POT1. TPP1 and TIN2 which physically connect POT1 and TRF2 act to generate a smooth movement along the axis of the telomere duplex. Our results suggest a plausible mechanism wherein telomeres maintain a dynamic structure orchestrated by shelterin.
Multidisciplinary Care Before and After Sleeve Gastrectomy

This chapter discuss the role of multidisciplinary care models before and after sleeve gastrectomy. Obesity is a chronic progressive multifactorial neurobehavioral disease. Treating it requires integrated collaborative efforts from medical, allied health and ancillary health care providers. We will define the multidisciplinary care, identify the core members, and then discuss the role of each member. The chapter demonstrates objective assessment tools for the bariatric dietitian and psychologist and discusses the important role of the bariatric/obesity specialist and the bariatric coordinator. The conclusion will identify the characteristics of the properly functioning multidisciplinary care team in bariatric surgery.
Modeling Coupled Reactive Transport Through Fault Zones: A Critical Review

Fault zones significantly influence the migration of fluids in the subsurface and can be important controls on the local as well as regional hydrogeology. Hence, understanding the evolution of faul...
The Role of the Virtue of Prudence in a Racing Competition and in an Economic Competition in the Market Place: Prudence Is the First and Only Virtue Applied in Both Situations

Just as there is a division of labor and specialization of function in the economic realm, the application of the different virtues also is divided up and specialized in actual application. Adam Smith’s example of running a race emphasized the fact that, when preparing and training and running the race, the only virtue that could be applied was the virtue of prudence. It is simply impossible to train for and run a race to win if the racer is considering the interests of the other competitors in the race besides his own. In fact, it is an oxymoron to argue that the racer needs to be simultaneously concerned about how he finishes the race and how others may finish the race. It is only after he has finished the race and won(lost) that the virtues of temperance, justice (fairness), benevolence and magnanimity can come into play. So it is also in the economic competition in the market place. It is the virtue of prudence that is especially applicable in the economic competition in the same manner that it was applicable in the racing competition. However, after the competition in the market place has been won (lost), the other virtues are to be deployed. It is a very severe error to assume that Smith’s prudence is Jeremy Bentham’s maximizing utility. They are not the same and there is no connection between the two. Economists err because they have confused and conflated Smith’s virtue ethics conception of self interest with Jeremy Bentham’s conflicting utilitarian conception of self interest.
Cost-Effectiveness Comes to America: The Promise and Perils of Cost-Effectiveness Analysis in Medication Coverage Decisions

In an effort to control rising drug costs, some health insurers have begun experimenting with methods to link decisions about coverage to the value added by medicines, including through the use of formal cost-effectiveness analysis (CEA). Increased interest in subjecting new drugs to rigorous economic analysis is a welcome development, as it offers the potential to minimize wasteful spending on drugs whose high prices are not justified by evidence of additional benefits produced. At the same time, CEA raises significant ethical issues, particularly when payers use it to limit access to drugs deemed to provide insufficient value for money. For example, most forms of CEA focus on the absolute quantity of health benefits a drug is expected to produce, without regard to how those benefits will be distributed among individuals or population groups. In addition, the measure of benefits most often used in CEA—the quality-adjusted life year (QALY)—has a built-in bias against life-extending drugs for patients with incurable disabilities, as well as for patients with diseases that disproportionately affect racial minorities. As a result of this bias, relying on CEA to limit access to medications could potentially violate federal civil rights laws in some situations. Finally, defining effectiveness solely in terms of direct health benefits to patients ignores other important ways that medicines can provide value, including benefits to third-party caregivers and society at large. Previous scholarship has examined the role of CEA in setting healthcare priorities, but less attention has been paid to the use of CEA in the context of health insurance. This Article fills that gap by critically exploring the use of CEA in medication coverage decisions, identifying ethical shortcomings in current approaches, and recommending strategies for reforming CEA to retain its benefits while minimizing its negative effects.
An Ebola-Like Microbe and The Limits of Kind-Based Goodness

Aristotelian theory, as found in Michael Thompson and Philippa Foot, claims that to be good is to be good as a member of that kind, and so there are varying standards of goodness dependent on an individual’s kind-membership. It is a perhaps little noticed feature of Foot’s project, in particular, that it aims to provide more than just a kind-relative account, but seeks an exhaustive account of goodness. She concludes, in effect, that goodness admits of only the kind-based sort. Accordingly, an individual’s goodness obtains solely in virtue of its satisfying kind-based standards. However, Mark Murphy has argued that a hypothetical “ignorant being” could satisfy its kind-relative standards by being ignorant, but we plausibly judge it to be bad when it does. Thus, an individual’s goodness does not obtain solely in virtue of meeting kind-based standards. In this sense, the ignorant being is a counterexample to any Aristotelian account similar to Foot’s. Unfortunately, Murphy’s counterexample fails because (for an Aristotelian) kind-based standards cannot require the lack of something. Nonetheless, I develop Murphy’s insight that something can satisfy kind-relative standards but nonetheless be bad—I propose a hypothetical Ebola-like microbe that meets its kind-standards of being destructive for its own sake, but it would plausibly be bad for doing so. In defending my counterexample, I challenge the Aristotelian contention that evaluations should only be made from “within” the standpoint of a particular lifeform conception, rather than an “external” one from which that kind itself can be judged to be bad.
Developing and implementing core competencies in children's environmental health for students, trainees and healthcare providers: a narrative review.

Knowledge of the health impacts of environmental exposures (such as pollution disasters, poor air quality, water contamination, climate change) on children’s health has dramatically increased in the past 40 years. The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that 23% of all deaths worldwide were attributable to the environment, and 26% of deaths in children less than 5 years old could be prevented with removal of environmental risks factors. Yet, little has permeated medical education, leaving pediatric providers ill equipped to address these issues. To address this gap, members from the Pediatric Environmental Health Specialty Units, a United States nationwide network of academically affiliated experts who have created numerous environmental health educational materials and programs, have identified fifteen core environmental health (EH) competencies needed by health care providers to enable them to effectively address environmental health concerns. These competencies can serve as the foundation for the development and implementation of relevant educational programs. The core EH competencies are based upon these foundational elements: 1) Definition of “children’s environmental health” that describes how environmental exposures (positive and negative) in early life influence the health and development in childhood and across the entire human life span 2) Children are not “little adults” and so have unique vulnerabilities to environmental hazards; 3) Environmental health inequities exist, causing some children to have a disproportionate amount of unhealthy exposures and consequently a greater risk of adverse effects; 4) Climate change will translate to numerous adverse health effects that will particularly affect children worldwide. In this article, the authors describe the core environmental health competencies and provide resources, online tools, strategies, and examples targeted to all levels of training and practice to better enable leaders and educators to bring this important content to the forefront.
Physical Data Acquisition for Digital Processing: Components, Parameters, and Specifications

This work provides definitions of all the parameters and specifications of each component in a data acquisition system. Particular emphasis is given to the relationship between the number of bits used to represent the data and the specification of each component.
Right-to-Work Laws and State-Level Economic Outcomes: Evidence from the Case Studies of Idaho and Oklahoma Using Synthetic Control Method

The role of right-to-work laws on state economies, labor organizations and employees are controversial and important policy questions. Empirical evidence is far from being conclusive predominantly due to identification issues. Using a recently developed econometric technique and exploiting the two most recent cases, -Idaho and Oklahoma- we examine the effectiveness of right-to-work laws on state-level outcomes. Our results indicate that the passage of right-to-work laws in Oklahoma affected union membership and coverage rates and, possibly to some extent, foreign direct investment. As for manufacturing employment, per capita income and average wage rates, we do not observe any impact. Our findings for Idaho, on the other hand, suggest that the laws increased the manufacturing employment, while it had no effect on per capita income and are inconclusive for foreign direct investment..
Context, conflict, weights, and identities: some psychological aspects of decision making

Experimental psychology provides a drastically different picture of human abilities, motives, and behavior from that which predominates economic analyses. Individual preferences are normatively assumed to be well-ordered and consistent, but descriptively shown to be inconsistent and malleable. Not having at their disposal clear and reliable procedures for assigning values to options, people need to construct their preferences in the context of decision, which is rife with, among other things, conflict, emotion, contextual influences, and shifts in perspective and attention. Like many other traits and behaviors, preference inconsistency is the outcome not of distracted shortcuts or avoidable errors, but of fundamental aspects of mental life that are central to how people process information. Thus, it may help to think of individual decision makers not as faulty economic agents, but as fundamentally different creatures.
Insurance, Information, and Individual Action

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses some intricacies and difficulties that arise in the real world operation of contingent claims markets. Insurance contracts are the most readily observable and perhaps the most important example of contingent claims markets in action. The purpose of insurance is to protect risk-averse individuals from suffering the full consequences of those actions on the part of nature that affect them unfavorably. Individuals have different incomes in different states of nature and may face different prices. Perfect insurance transfers income between states of nature, preserving marginal cost pricing when the income is spent. With an imperfect measurement of the states of nature, income transfers are conditional on what is observed rather than on the state of nature. Alternatively, one could alter prices to provide insurance.
Interface states and anomalous quantum oscillations in hybrid graphene structures

We report the first experimental study of continuous sheets of graphene possessing both one-layer and two-layer portions. In a bulk hybrid structure featuring two large-area one-layer and two-layer graphene areas, our measurements in a magnetic field revealed the formation of two independent sets of Landau levels with drastically different energy scales and level spacings as expected as well as new features in the quantum oscillation originating from the interface and device configuration. In edge hybrids featuring large two-layer graphene with two narrow one-layer graphene edges, we observed an anomalous suppression in the amplitude of the quantum oscillation of two-layer graphene. The suppression is interpreted as a consequence of the locking of the one-layer and two-layer graphene Fermi energies, the associated charge imbalance, and the emergence of chiral interface states, whose physical consequences are yet to be fully understood.
La barrera hacia ningún lugar: el caso del programa bilateral de administración de la mano de obra

MIGRACION Y DESARROLLO 195 A medida que la crisis de Irak se profundiza sin final previsible, una administracion en desgracia quiza busque en otra parte una victoria legislativa. La inmigracion es una buena candidata, dado que la alianza entre la derecha economica, interesada en mano de obra abundante y la izquierda liberal, interesada en los derechos humanos y en acabar con la explotacion de los migrantes, podria realizarse para derrotar a la derecha radical nacionalista. Sobre la mesa ya esta una propuesta democrata, la de Seguridad a traves de la Inmigracion Regularizada y una Economia Vibrante (Security through Regularized Immigration and a Vibrant Economy, el decreto conocido por las siglas STRIVE del ano 2007), cuyos autores fueron los diputados Gutierrez y Flake; un conjunto paralelo de propuestas recientemente lanzadas por la Casa Blanca. Tanto el conjunto de propuestas como el decreto plantean alguna forma de legalizacion de la poblacion migrante no autorizada, ademas de un programa de mano de obra temporal. Se trata de buenos puntos, sin embargo ambas propuestas tienen restricciones y es probable que no puedan ponerse en practica por razones que presentaremos mas adelante. Hasta el ano pasado, los intentos legislativos por sujetar el problema de la inmigracion: “nuestras fracturadas fronteras”, como lo expresa cotidianamente Lou Dobbs, han estado dominados por el punto de vista de la derecha cultural radical –como ha sido articulado por el COYUNTURA Y DEBATE