cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Factors Influencing Team Behaviors in Surgery: A Qualitative Study to Inform Teamwork Interventions

Background Surgical excellence demands teamwork. Poor team behaviors negatively affect team performance and are associated with adverse events and worse outcomes. Interventions to improve surgical teamwork focusing on frontline team members' nontechnical skills have proliferated but shown mixed results. Literature on teamwork in organizations suggests that team behaviors are also contingent on psychosocial, cultural, and organizational factors. This study examined factors influencing surgical team behaviors to inform more contextually sensitive and effective approaches to optimizing surgical teamwork. Methods This qualitative study of cardiac surgical teams in a large United States teaching hospital included 34 semistructured interviews. Thematic network analysis was used to examine perceptions of ideal teamwork and factors influencing team behaviors in the operating room. Results Perceptions of ideal teamwork were largely shared, but team members held discrepant views of which team and leadership behaviors enhanced or undermined teamwork. Other factors affecting team behaviors were related to the local organizational culture, including management of staff behavior, variable case demands, and team members' technical competence, and fitness of organizational structures and processes to support teamwork. These factors affected perceptions of what constituted optimal interpersonal and team behaviors in the operating room. Conclusions Team behaviors are contextually contingent and organizationally determined, and beliefs about optimal behaviors are not necessarily shared. Interventions to optimize surgical teamwork require establishing consensus regarding best practice, ability to adapt as circumstances require, and organizational commitment to addressing contextual factors that affect teams.
High Temperature AlGaN/GaN Membrane Based Pressure Sensors

A highly sensitive Gallium Nitride (GaN) diaphragm based micro-scale pressure sensor with an AlGaN/GaN heterostructure field effect transistor (HFET) deflection transducer has been designed and fabricated for high temperature applications. The performance of the pressure sensor was studied over a pressure range of 20 kPa, which resulted in an ultra-high sensitivity of ~0.76%/kPa, with a signal-to-noise ratio as high as 16 dB, when biased optimally in the subthreshold region. A high gauge factor of 260 was determined from strain distribution in the sensor membrane obtained from finite element simulations. A repeatable sensor performance was observed over multiple pressure cycles up to a temperature of 200 °C.
Multiple Objective Linear Programming and the Tradeoff — Compromise Set

In this paper, we develop a method for finding all nondominated compromise solutions to a multiple objective linear program. We also develop an iterative technique that yields an interesting subset of the nondominated set termed the tradeoff — compromise set. This subset depends on the ideal vector and gives insight into what tradeoffs are possible amongst the objectives.
The Role of Emotions in the Development of Wisdom

It is with a slight sense of embarrassment that we embark on this task of writing about wisdom. Although it is clearly the case that one can be immersed in a subject without claiming kinship with it—an entomologist can write about spiders without having to be one—wisdom has an alluring aura suggesting that those who dare to write about it must be to some extent also wise. We would like to relinquish any claims to that effect, at the outset, and, relieved of the burden of appearing wise, start to analyze this important and interesting phenomenon with the conceptual tools of the social sciences.
Water insecurity, illness and other factors of everyday life: A case study from Choma District, Southern Province, Zambia

Recent reports from the UN find that 2.6 billion people have gained access to improved drinking water sources since 1990, but 663 million people still live without. Other recent work demonstrates that 4 billion people annually face severe water scarcity as a result of seasonal fluctuations in water availability and quality. How is it that, despite the significant development in water resource availability documented by the UN, literally billions of people are regularly experiencing water insecurity? To begin to understand how a lack of access to reliable water resources affects everyday life, I focus on a specific outcome of water insecurity: waterborne illness. Given the difficulty in linking illness to a particular source, this research focuses on perceptions of water safety. I ask participants about illness they perceive coming from their drinking water, conducting faceto- face surveys ( N = 224) spatially distributed around Choma town, Southern Province, Zambia. In particular, I investigate how these perceptions affect everyday life and what intersecting factors are likely to increase or decrease the probability of a person perceiving drinking water as the source of their illness. Our findings demonstrate that individual perceptions of waterborne illness are tightly coupled with perceptions of water needs being met or not, water flexibility (water storage capacity and water resource type and number available), total water use, food security and distance to various services. My work identifies and qualifies intersecting relationships that are critical to the design of any policy or other means of intervention intended to reduce experienced and perceived waterborne illness and other everyday needs of subsistence farmers facing the challenges presented by climate change and other forms of environmental change. Keywords: water, illness, perceptions, insecurity, environmental change
The smoothed finite element method (S-FEM): A framework for the design of numerical models for desired solutions

The smoothed finite element method (S-FEM) was originated by G R Liu by combining some meshfree techniques with the well-established standard finite element method (FEM). It has a family of models carefully designed with innovative types of smoothing domains. These models are found having a number of important and theoretically profound properties. This article first provides a concise and easy-to-follow presentation of key formulations used in the S-FEM. A number of important properties and unique features of S-FEM models are discussed in detail, including 1) theoretically proven softening effects; 2) upper-bound solutions; 3) accurate solutions and higher convergence rates; 4) insensitivity to mesh distortion; 5) Jacobian-free; 6) volumetric-locking-free; and most importantly 7) working well with triangular and tetrahedral meshes that can be automatically generated. The S-FEM is thus ideal for automation in computations and adaptive analyses, and hence has profound impact on AI-assisted modeling and simulation. Most importantly, one can now purposely design an S-FEM model to obtain solutions with special properties as wish, meaning that S-FEM offers a framework for design numerical models with desired properties. This novel concept of numerical model on-demand may drastically change the landscape of modeling and simulation. Future directions of research are also provided.
Using Ionic Liquids To Study the Migration of Semivolatile Organic Vapors in Smog Chamber Experiments

Atmospheric organic aerosols comprise complex mixtures of a myriad of compounds with a wide range of structures and volatilities. To understand the fate of atmospheric organic aerosols and their co...
Stabilizing effects of oxidation on propagating formation reactions occurring in nanometer-scale metal multilayers

Abstract Reactive rare-earth/transition metal multilayers exhibit a variety of complex reaction behaviors depending on surrounding gaseous environment and material design. Small period ( 200 nm bilayer) also react exclusively in air but exhibit a different propagating mode. The oxidation of Sc combined with the exothermic reaction of metal species results in continually-stable waves characterized by a smooth wavefront morphology and uniform velocity. The flame temperatures associated with propagating waves are estimated using measured heats of reaction and enthalpy-temperature relationships in order to provide insight into the possible phase transformations that occur during these different exothermic reactions.
Opioid Utilization and Perception of Pain Control in Hospitalized Patients: A Cross-Sectional Study of 11 Sites in 8 Countries

BACKGROUND Hospitalized patients are frequently treated with opioids for pain control, and receipt of opioids at hospital discharge may increase the risk of future chronic opioid use. OBJECTIVE To compare inpatient analgesic prescribing patterns and patients' perception of pain control in the United States and non-US hospitals. DESIGN Cross-sectional observational study. SETTING Four hospitals in the US and seven in seven other countries. PARTICIPANTS Medical inpatients reporting pain. MEASUREMENTS Opioid analgesics dispensed during the first 24-36 hours of hospitalization and at discharge; assessments and beliefs about pain. RESULTS We acquired completed surveys for 981 patients, 503 of 719 patients in the US and 478 of 590 patients in other countries. After adjusting for confounding factors, we found that more US patients were given opioids during their hospitalization compared with patients in other countries, regardless of whether they did or did not report taking opioids prior to admission (92% vs 70% and 71% vs 41%, respectively; P < .05), and similar trends were seen for opioids prescribed at discharge. Patient satisfaction, beliefs, and expectations about pain control differed between patients in the US and other sites. LIMITATIONS Limited number of sites and patients/country. CONCLUSIONS In the hospitals we sampled, our data suggest that physicians in the US may prescribe opioids more frequently during patients' hospitalizations and at discharge than their colleagues in other countries, and patients have different beliefs and expectations about pain control. Efforts to curb the opioid epidemic likely need to include addressing inpatient analgesic prescribing practices and patients' expectations regarding pain control.
An investigation of the relationship between psychopathy and greater gray matter density in lateral prefrontal cortex

Psychopathic traits predispose individuals toward antisocial behavior. Such antagonistic acts often result in "unsuccessful" outcomes such as incarceration. What mechanisms allow some people with relatively high levels of psychopathic traits to live "successful", unincarcerated lives, in spite of their antisocial tendencies? Using neuroimaging, we investigated the possibility that "successful" psychopathic individuals exhibited greater development of neural structures that promote "successful" self-regulation, focusing on the ventrolateral prefrontal cortex (VLPFC). Across two structural magnetic resonance imaging studies of "successful" participants (Study 1: N = 80 individuals in long-term romantic relationships; Study 2: N = 64 undergraduates), we observed that gray matter density in the left and right VLPFC was positively associated with psychopathic traits. These preliminary results support a compensatory model of psychopathy, in which "successful" psychopathic individuals develop inhibitory mechanisms to compensate for their antisocial tendencies. Traditional models of psychopathy that emphasize deficits may be aided by such compensatory models that identify surfeits in neural and psychological processes.
The contribution of processing fluency (and beliefs) to people's judgments of learning.

This chapter discusses the relationship between metacognitive monitoring and metacognitive control. Underlying the growing interest in metacognition is the assumption that metacognitive feelings are not mere epiphenomena but exert causal effects on the regulation of cognitive processes and behavior. It examines the results that have some bearing on the thesis. The chapter explains that the monitoring may actually be based on the feedback from control operations. It talks about the curious observation of the relationship between study time (ST) and judgments of learning (JOLs) during the self-paced study of paired associates. The chapter analyses the work and, the evidence for the mediating role of attribution comes from people's ability to respond differentially to cognitive effort depending on its presumed source. It also describes the distinction between data-driven and goal-driven regulation, and highlights the challenge that the distinction poses for people's online monitoring of their own performance.
Is Honesty the Best Policy? Examining the Role of Price and Supply Chain Transparency in Fashion Marketing

Transparency is one of the most prominent demands of consumers today. Fashion brands such as Patagonia, Everlane, and Arket are responding to this demand for transparency by sharing information on the cost-breakdown of products and manufacturing processes. Research shows that for proactive companies, transparency can become a vital tool for product, process, and business model innovation. Nonetheless, little is known about the role of transparency and how it affects consumers’ purchase intentions and perceptions of a brand in the fashion context. The purpose of this study is to investigate how consumers react to fashion brands that provide price or supply chain transparency. An experiment with a total of three scenarios using a fictitious fashion brand was developed, and data were collected from 121 American consumers through MTurk. The findings suggest that both price transparency and supply chain transparency positively affect the overall brand equity and consumers’ purchase intentions, while the moderation effect of socially conscious purchasing behavior was not found. This study extends our current understanding on the role of transparency in fashion marketing and also suggests that brand transparency may be another key dimension of brand equity.
Adult malignancy in a pediatric patient: the role of med-peds providers in palliative care

Introduction: Terminal diagnoses in the pediatric population are universally challenging for interdisciplinary team members. Cases of pediatric patients that suffer from malignancies more commonly affecting adults can be even more difficult for pediatric and adult teams to manage. This case brings to light some unique struggles where a med-peds perspective can provide assistance to adult and pediatric providers. Case Report: Fifteen-year old MB presented with one month of emesis, 3 months of abdominal pain, and 6 months of unintentional weight loss (15 pounds). MB was anemic with a positive fecal …
The Impact of Preoperative Intravenous Iron Therapy on Perioperative Outcomes in Cardiac Surgery: A Systematic Review

Background: Anemia is common in cardiac surgery affecting 25-40% of patients and associated with increased blood transfusions, morbidity, mortality, and higher hospital costs. Higher rates of stroke, acute renal injury, and total number of adverse postoperative outcomes have also been reported to be associated with preoperative anemia. This systematic review assessed the current evidence for preoperative intravenous iron on major outcomes following cardiac surgery. Methods: Outcome measures included postoperative hemoglobin, transfusion rates, major adverse events, and mortality. The review was conducted according to Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses (PRISMA) guidelines, and articles were identified using PubMed, Cochrane, CLINAHL, WOS, and EMBASE databases. Articles were included if they compared patients with and without preoperative anemia based on treatment with intravenous iron. Quality was assessed using Cochrane Risk of Bias Tool and Newcastle-Ottawa scale, and strength of evidence was assessed using the Grading of Recommendations, Assessment, Development and Evaluations (GRADE) approach. Results: Of the articles reviewed, six met inclusion criteria. These included four randomized double-blind prospective cohort studies, one randomized non-blinded prospective study, and one non-randomized non-blinded prospective study with historical control. Across studies, 1,038 patients were enrolled. Two studies showed higher hemoglobin with iron therapy, and only one study showed significant differences in multiple outcomes such as transfusion and morbidity. Conclusions: Given the paucity of studies and biases within them, the current evidence for treatment with intravenous iron prior to cardiac surgery is weak. More evidence is needed to support the administration of preoperative intravenous iron in cardiac surgery patients. J Hematol. 2020;9(4):97-108 doi: https://doi.org/10.14740/jh696
Compare Synchronous and Asynchronous Online Instruction for Science Teacher Preparation

Online teacher education is an important alternative in response to the problem of teacher shortage. The format of interaction is critical in leveraging social and intellectual connection between l...
His Body of Work, the Work of His Body: The Chronicles of Christopher Lee, and Respect After Death

This article examines the cultural and political work of transgender Chinese and Polish American filmmaker Christopher Lee through the affects of Lee’s autobiographical documentary short Christophe...
Misadventures in Archaeology: The Life and Career of Charles Conrad Abbott

Misadventures in Archaeology: The Life and Career of Charles Conrad Abbott reviewed by Dr. Bernard K. Means
The ICEMAN, a heterogeneous platform for analysis of neutron scattering data

The Integrated Computational Environment for Modeling and Analysis of Neutron data (ICEMAN) is a modeling and analysis workbench for multi-modal studies, designed with neutron science in mind.The i...
Critical Roles of Calpastatin in Ischemia/Reperfusion Injury in Aged Livers

Ischemia/reperfusion (I/R) injury unavoidably occurs during hepatic resection and transplantation. Aged livers poorly tolerate I/R during surgical treatment. Although livers have a powerful endogenous inhibitor of calpains, calpastatin (CAST), I/R activates calpains, leading to impaired autophagy, mitochondrial dysfunction, and hepatocyte death. It is unknown how I/R in aged livers affects CAST. Human and mouse liver biopsies at different ages were collected during in vivo I/R. Hepatocytes were isolated from 3-month- (young) and 26-month-old (aged) mice, and challenged with short in vitro simulated I/R. Cell death, protein expression, autophagy, and mitochondrial permeability transition (MPT) between the two age groups were compared. Adenoviral vector was used to overexpress CAST. Significant cell death was observed only in reperfused aged hepatocytes. Before the commencement of ischemia, CAST expression in aged human and mouse livers and mouse hepatocytes was markedly greater than that in young counterparts. However, reperfusion substantially decreased CAST in aged human and mouse livers. In hepatocytes, reperfusion rapidly depleted aged cells of CAST, cleaved autophagy-related protein 5 (ATG5), and induced defective autophagy and MPT onset, all of which were blocked by CAST overexpression. Furthermore, mitochondrial morphology was shifted toward an elongated shape with CAST overexpression. In conclusion, CAST in aged livers is intrinsically short-lived and lost after short I/R. CAST depletion contributes to age-dependent liver injury after I/R.
Retrofitting urban land through integrative, subsoils-based planning of green stormwater infrastructure: A research framework

We present a research framework that integrates native subsoil performance and surface retrofitting into coordinated green stormwater infrastructure (GSI) planning. This framework provides communities a strategy to move beyond opportunistic GSI, which can be limited to capturing marginal amounts of stormwater, toward more impactful, coordinated GSI planning that restores the lost hydrologic functioning of the pre-development landscape. We create this framework by establishing critical performance-based relationships among four variables: 1) saturated hydraulic conductivity of native subsoils (~upper 2 m below urban compaction and fill); 2) GSI design depth for both rain gardens and permeable pavement (in increments of 6" from 12-30" for planted and paved GSI); 3) loading ratio, defined as the ratio of GSI retrofit area to upstream impervious surface runoff area (from 1:2 to 1:5 for planted GSI; and 1:1 and direct infiltration for paved GSI); and 4) design storms (rainfall quantity up to 5-inches over 2-hr and 24-hr durations). We model the four variables using GSI models (built in the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency's Storm Water Management Model (EPA-SWMM)) and reliability analysis, a risk-assessment method adapted to characterize the reliability of GSI in response to varying stormwater runoff loading. The outcome of the modeling is a set of fragility curves and design prototypes, adjustable to catchment and sub-catchment scales, to assist municipalities in early funding and investment decisions to retrofit urbanized land through GSI. We also share two piloted applications in which we use the research framework within the Chicago-Calumet region in Illinois, USA, to conduct site-specific subsoil sampling and determinations of saturated hydraulic conductivity and to develop urban-scale GSI retrofit scenarios. Our framework is transferable to other urban regions, and particularly useful where a lack of integrating native subsoil performance into GSI design hinders decision-making, coordinated GSI planning at scale, and achieving high runoff reduction targets.
Mutual Fund Stewardship and the Empty Voting Problem

When Roberta Karmel wrote the articles that are the subject of this symposium, she was skeptical of both the potential value of shareholder voting and the emerging involvement of institutional investors in corporate governance. In the ensuing years, both the increased role and engagement of institutional investors and the heightened importance of shareholder voting offer new reasons to take Professor Karmel’s concerns seriously. Institutional investors have taken on a broader range of issues ranging from diversity and political spending to climate change and human capital management, and their ability to influence corporate policy on these issues has become more significant. The broadened scope of institutional engagement and influence raises new questions about the legitimacy of institutional investor engagement. Specifically, the mutual funds and other institutional investors are not principals but agents. The exercise of institutional voting power is by fund managers or governance teams, people who have “little or no economic interest in the shares that they vote,” This “empty voting” has the potential to undermine the legitimacy of the shareholder franchise. It is of particular concern when the assets committed to a broad-based index fund are voted to support initiatives that have the potential to sacrifice economic value in favor of social or societal objectives about which the shareholders invested in that index fund may not agree. Because of the risk that empty voting will not reflect the preferences of the true economic owners, this Article argues for change. The Article identifies potential market-based solutions to increase the alignment between institutional engagement and the preferences of fund investors including greater and more transparent fund segmentation, pass-through voting, or an explicit mechanism for fund investors to communicate their preferences to asset managers. At the same time, because asset managers have private incentives to retain their current power, the Article also considers potential regulatory reforms.
Purpose, function and types of mathematics assessment in China

This paper takes a historical perspective to review the development of assessment practice, in China, which is outlined with a focus on the purpose and function of different assessment practices. Specifically, civil examination in imperial China served the purpose of selection and had the functions of directing and propelling educational activities. Various examinations used in modern China have kept the similar purpose as civil examination but changed in other ways. Several other assessment methods developed in modern China have shown more promise for improving mathematics education than examinations, but further efforts are needed for their development. The value of reviewing Chinese assessment practice historically is then addressed in an international context. The accomplishment of this review itself suggests that focusing on the purpose and function of an assessment is a feasible approach for reviewing assessment practice in other educational systems.
Chapter 11. Peace, Security, And Prosecutorial Discretion

The problem of prosecutorial discretion at the International Criminal Court (ICC) has received some critical attention, but the current scholarship has insufficiently addressed the theoretical problems raised by the prosecutors unique brand of discretion. The standard view in the literature recognizes wide prosecutorial discretion to the ICC Prosecutor. The best way to understand prosecutorial discretion at the ICC under Article 53 is to make certain elementary distinctions between prosecutorial discretion as per an entire investigation and prosecutorial discretion as per a particular prosecution. The distinction between the ICC as a criminal court and the ICC as a security court shows up in other areas of the courts operation, in addition to prosecutorial discretion. The important thing to understand is that the rationale for the courts work, is a matter of collective peace and security, which are matters that fall within the ambit of the Security Council. Keywords: International Criminal Court (ICC); prosecutorial discretion; Security Council
Design and Simulation of the nuSTORM Pion Beamline

Abstract The nuSTORM (neutrinos from STORed Muons) proposal presents a detailed design for a neutrino facility based on a muon storage ring, with muon decay in the production straight section of the ring providing well defined neutrino beams. The facility includes a primary high-energy proton beam line, a target station with pion production and collection, and a pion beamline for pion transportation and injection into a muon decay ring. The nuSTORM design uses “stochastic injection”, in which pions are directed by a chicane, referred to as the Orbit Combination Section (OCS), into the production straight section of the storage ring. Pions that decay within that straight section provide muons within the circulating acceptance of the ring. The design enables injection without kickers or a separate pion decay transport line. The beam line that the pions traverse before being extracted from the decay ring is referred to as the pion beamline. This paper describes the design and simulation of the pion beamline, and includes full beam dynamics simulations of the system.
Experimental chemo-mechanics of early-age fracture properties of cement paste

Abstract The risk of early-age fracture of cementitious materials in ever more challenging environments provides a unique opportunity to employ an experimental chemo-mechanical platform to develop functional relations between hydration degree, fracture and strength properties, assessed by isothermal calorimetry, micro-scratching, splitting and microindentation on white cement paste at various curing ages from 7 h to 28 days. We show that the modulus, tensile strength, fracture toughness and energy all evolve with a natural logarithmic dependence on the hydration degree. These trends are linked to the densification of the material during the hydration process, explained by compaction mechanics and free volume theory. We show that while the fracture process zone size is essentially constant during the hydration process, the ductility of the material, quantified by M / H , decreases, and is consistent with the evolution of K c / H . Both quantities provide a convenient way to experimentally assess the fracture sensitivity of early-age cement-based materials.
A Toolbox for Nonlinear Dynamics

Using the main problem of artificial satellite theory as an illustration, we review several developments which have had a significant impact on research in nonlinear dynamics. On the mathematical front, we point to the theory of Lie transformations; in the area of computational software, we explain how massively data parallel machines open the way for symbolic solution of large problems. Finally, we show how color graphics assist in the qualitative analysis of dynamical systems.
Memory and the Brain

This review summarizes some of the recent advances in the neurobiology of memory. Current research helps us to understand how memories are created and, conversely, how our memories can be influenced by stress, drugs, and aging. An understanding of how memories are encoded by the brain may also lead to new ideas about how to maximize the long-term retention of important information. There are multiple memory systems with different functions and, in this review, we focus on the conscious recollection of one's experience of events and facts and on memories tied to emotional responses. Memories are also classified according to time: from short-term memory, lasting only seconds or minutes, to long-term memory, lasting months or years. The advent of new functional neuroimaging methods provides an opportunity to gain insight into how the human brain supports memory formation. Each memory system has a distinct anatomical organization, where different parts of the brain are recruited during phases of memory storage. Within the brain, memory is a dynamic property of populations of neurons and their interconnections. Memories are laid down in our brains via chemical changes at the neuron level. An understanding of the neurobiology of memory may stimulate health educators to consider how various teaching methods conform to the process of memory formation.
A survey report of enhancements to the visitor software designpattern

The Visitor pattern is a behavioral software design pattern where different objects represent an operation to be performed on elements of an object structure. Despite the benefits of the Visitor pattern, its rigid structure has limitations. Owing to the Visitor pattern's usefulness and importance to software design, many researchers have extended and modified the original Visitor pattern to overcome its limitations. Researchers have even replaced the Visitor pattern with more refined design patterns e.g., Reflective Visitor pattern, Java Walkabout Class, and Dynamic Dispatcher that bear minimal resemblance to the original Visitor pattern's structure while retaining its major advantages e.g., ability to add new operations to an object structure without changing the classes of objects, localizing related behavior, and accumulating state. This article therefore provides a comprehensive survey of the Visitor pattern for software practitioners. Within the survey, we focus on major enhancements that have been made to the original Visitor pattern to overcome its limitations. On the basis of our survey results, we found that variations of the Visitor pattern can be separated into two categories: extended Visitor patterns where the original Visitor pattern structure stays intact and alternative Visitor patterns where the structure of the original Visitor pattern is altered. Copyright © 2012 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.
Studies on RNA isolated from nucleolar fractions of Novikoff hepatoma cells by sequential extractions with dilute and concentrated salt solutions

Abstract The heterogeneity of RNA in nucleoli of Novikoff hepatoma ascites cells was studied with the use of differential salt extraction techniques for separation of nucleolar fractions. The 0.14 M NaCl extract, the 2.0 M NaCl extract and the nucleolar residue contained approx. 5 per cent, 15 per cent and 80 per cent of the total nucleolar RNA respectively. To limit the degradation of RNA when the extractions were made at pH 7.6, it was necessary to carry out the extractions at pH 5.1 and it was found at both higher and lower pH there was degradation of the RNA, loosening of the nucleolonemal structures and loss of nucleolar ribonucleoproteins. Analysis of sedimentation profile and of base compositions showed that the bulk of the rapidly sedimenting GC-rich ribosomal precursor RNA remained in the nucleolar residue fraction. The 2.0 M NaCl extract contained also rapidly sedimenting RNA (28 S, 35 S and 45 S RNAs); unlike the RNA of the 2.0 M extract of isolated nuclei, which was AU-rich [7, 32, 33], this RNA fraction from nucleoli was GC-rich. The nucleolar 4–7 S RNAs contained three major components, 4S-tRNA, 5S RNA and 7S RNA as shown by polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis. The 4–7 S RNA in the 2.0 M NaCl extract was similar in base composition to tRNA. The U-rich 4–7 S RNAs remained in the nucleolar residue fraction.
Measuring phonons in protein crystals

Using Terahertz near field microscopy we find orientation dependent narrow band absorption features for lysozyme crystals. Here we discuss identification of protein collective modes associated with the observed features. Using normal mode calculations we find good agreement with several of the measured features, suggesting that the modes arise from internal molecular motions and not crystal phonons. Such internal modes have been associated with protein function.
Ara-C differentially affects multiprotein forms of human cell DNA polymerase.

Purpose: The antimetabolite 1-β-d-arabinofuranosylcytosine (ara-C) has proven to be one of the most effective agents available for the treatment of acute leukemia although the precise mechanism by which ara-C induces cytotoxicity remains unclear. Our laboratory has previously isolated from human cells a DNA replication complex, termed the DNA synthesome, which is fully competent to orchestrate, in vitro, all of the reactions required to efficiently and faithfully replicate DNA. Using this system and the active metabolite of ara-C, ara-CTP, we demonstrated that the human DNA synthesome can efficiently incorporate ara-CTP into internucleotide positions of newly replicated DNA in vitro mimicking results obtained using intact cells and isolated nuclei. We then hypothesized that DNA polymerase auxiliary proteins, present within the DNA synthesome, may aid in incorporating this nucleotide analog into DNA. Methods: To test this hypothesis, we utilized three distinct multiprotein complexes each of which contained human DNA polymerase α and examined with standard in vitro polymerase assays the effectiveness of ara-C in inhibiting various aspects of their polymerase function. Results and conclusion: These polymerase-mediated elongation assays, which included ara-CTP- or ara-C-containing primers in the reaction mixture, showed that the rate of DNA elongation in the presence of ara-CTP was significantly enhanced when the DNA polymerase was associated with its auxiliary proteins, and that the elongation resulted in the formation of internucleotide ara-CMP. Nevertheless, the enhanced activities resulting from the association of these auxiliary proteins with polymerase α did not fully account for the remarkable efficiency with which the DNA synthesome incorporated ara-C into internucleotide positions during DNA replication.
A Frequency-Dependent Coupled-Mode Analysis of Multiconductor Microstrip Lines with Application to VLSI Interconnection Problems

The spectral Galerkin procedure is used to calculate the dispersion properties of multiple conductor microstrip lines. The resulting propagation constants are then used in a coupled-mode theory which demonstrates a frequency-dependent coupling of current in a five-conductor system. These results should he useful in the study of crosstalk between parallel microstrip lines used in VLSI interconnections.
Tailoring of electron flow current in magnetically insulated transmission lines.

It is desirable to optimize (minimizing both the inductance and electron flow) the magnetically insulated vacuum sections of low impedance pulsed-power drivers. The goal of low inductance is understandable from basic efficiency arguments. The goal of low electron flow results from two observations: (1) flowing electrons generally do not deliver energy to (or even reach) most loads, and thus constitute a loss mechanism; (2) energetic electrons deposited in a small area can cause anode damage and anode plasma formation. Low inductance and low electron flow are competing goals; an optimized system requires a balance of the two. While magnetically insulated systems are generally forgiving, there are times when optimization is crucial. For example, in large pulsed-power drivers used to energize high energy density physics loads, the electron flow as a fraction of total current is small, but that flow often reaches the anode in relatively small regions. If the anode temperature becomes high enough to desorb gas, the resulting plasma initiates a gap closure process that can impact system performance. Magnetic-pressure driven ($z$ pinches and material equation of state) loads behave like a fixed inductor for much of the drive pulse. It is clear that neither fixed gap nor constant-impedance transmission lines are optimal for driving inductive loads. This work shows a technique for developing the optimal impedance profile for the magnetically insulated section of a high-current driver. Particle-in-cell calculations are used to validate the impedance profiles developed in a radial disk magnetically insulated transmission line geometry. The input parameters are the spacing and location of the minimum gap, the effective load inductance, and the desired electron flow profile. The radial electron flow profiles from these simulations are in good agreement with theoretical predictions when driven at relatively high voltage (i.e., $V\ensuremath{\ge}2\text{ }\text{ }\mathrm{MV}$).
A contribution to the pharmacodynamics and chemistry of glycinanilide

This first approximation of the pharmacodynamics of glycinanilide indicates that the compound is less desirable as a therapeutic analgesic than is acetanilide.
Hydrogels Containing Immobilized Bilayer Membranes

Novel polyacrylamide hydrogels containing immobilized bilayer membranes have been synthesized and characterized. Iridescent color appears to result from the Bragg diffraction of visible light by the periodic structure of bilayer membranes of a polymerizable surfactant (n-dodecyl glyceryl itaconate (DGI). The iridescent structure of DGI has been immobilized inside a polyacrylamide gel. The iridescent color of the gel thus obtained can be changed by controlling the swelling degree of the gel. Anisotropic hydrogels in the entire bulk body have been synthesized by polymerizing the gels under shear flow and immobilizing the macroscopically aligned bilayer membranes inside the gel networks.
Robotic mitral valve repair for all categories of leaflet prolapse: improving patient appeal and advancing standard of care.

OBJECTIVE To characterize the early outcomes of robotic mitral valve (MV) repair using standard open techniques. PATIENTS AND METHODS We prospectively studied 100 patients with severe mitral regurgitation due to leaflet prolapse who underwent robot-assisted MV repair using conventional open-repair techniques between January 1, 2008, and December 31, 2009, at Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN. RESULTS The mean age of the patients was 53.9 years; 77 patients (77%) were male. Fifty-nine patients (59%) had posterior leaflet prolapse, 38 (38%) had bileaflet disease, and 3 (3%) had isolated anterior leaflet prolapse. Median cross-clamp and bypass times decreased significantly during the course of the study ( p p p CONCLUSION Robot-assisted MV repair using proven, conventional open-repair techniques is reproducible and safe and hastens recovery for all categories of leaflet prolapse. One month after surgery, significant regression in left ventricular size and volume is evident.
Sulfur dioxide emissions and sulfur deposition from international shipping in Asian waters

Abstract Emissions of sulfur dioxide from international shipping in Asian waters have been estimated using information on typical shipping parameters and quantities of goods shipped to and from the major ports. Emissions are estimated to be 236,000 t SO2 per year in 1988. This represents 11.7% of emissions in Southeast Asia and 0.7% of total continental Asian emissions. Emissions from vessels in transit between ports are estimated to be 226,000 t SO2 per year, and emissions from port activities are estimated to be 10,200 t SO2 per year. Deposition of this sulfur was calculated using the ATMOS model of atmospheric transport and deposition. Shipping emissions were found to be the dominant source of sulfur deposition in large areas of the Indian Ocean, the western Pacific Ocean, and the South China Sea. Land areas most heavily affected are those bordering the Strait of Malacca, where portions of Sumatra, peninsular Malaysia, and Singapore have contributions from shipping in excess of 10% of total sulfur deposition. Observational data in Malaysia are consistent with these findings. It is suggested that emissions from shipping may be contributing to ecological damage in areas surrounding the Strait of Malacca.
Joint compression alters the kinematics and loading patterns of the intact and capsule‐transected AC joint

High compressive loads are transmitted through the shoulder across the acromioclavicular (AC) joint to the axial skeleton during activities of daily living and can lead to early joint degeneration or instability. The objective of this study was to quantify the effect of joint compression on the biomechanics of the intact and capsule-transected AC joint during application of three loading conditions. A robotic/universal force-moment sensor testing system was utilized to apply an anterior, posterior or superior load of 70 N in combination with 10 or 70 N of joint compression to fresh-frozen cadaveric shoulders (n=12). The application of joint compression to the intact AC joint decreased the posterior translation in response to a posterior load (-6.6+/-2.5 vs -3.7+/-1.0 mm, p<0.05). Joint compression also decreased the in situ force in the superior AC capsule by 10 N while increasing the joint contact force by 20 N for all loading conditions (p<0.05). The application of joint compression to the capsule-transected AC joint significantly decreased the amount of posterior and superior translation during posterior (-12.7+/-6.1 vs -5.5+/-3.2 mm, p<0.05) and superior (5.3+/-2.9 vs 4.2+/-2.3 mm, p<0.05) loading, respectively, while significantly increasing the coupled translations (anterior-posterior, superior-inferior or proximal-distal) in all loading conditions (p<0.05). The joint contact force also significantly increased by 20 N for all loading conditions (p<0.05). This quantitative data suggests: (1) common surgical techniques such as distal clavicle resection, which initially reduce painful joint contact, may cause unusually high loads to be supported by the soft tissue structures at the AC joint; and (2) compressive loads transmitted across a capsule-transected AC joint could be concentrated over a smaller area due to the increased coupled motion and joint contact force.
Potential responses of soil organic carbon to global environmental change

Recent improvements in our understanding of the dynamics of soil carbon have shown that 20-40% of the approximately 1,500 Pg of C stored as organic matter in the upper meter of soils has turnover times of centuries or less. This fast-cycling organic matter is largely comprised of undecomposed plant material and hydrolyzable components associated with mineral surfaces. Turnover times of fast-cycling carbon vary with climate and vegetation, and range from 60 years at high latitudes. The amount and turnover time of C in passive soil carbon pools (organic matter strongly stabilized on mineral surfaces with turnover times of millennia and longer) depend on factors like soil maturity and mineralogy, which, in turn, reflect long-term climate conditions. Transient sources or sinks in terrestrial carbon pools result from the time lag between photosynthetic uptake of CO2 by plants and the subsequent return of C to the atmosphere through plant, heterotrophic, and microbial respiration. Differential responses of primary production and respiration to climate change or ecosystem fertilization have the potential to cause significant interrannual to decadal imbalances in terrestrial C storage and release. Rates of carbon storage and release in recently disturbed ecosystems can be much larger than rates in more mature ecosystems. Changes in disturbance frequency and regime resulting from future climate change may be more important than equilibrium responses in determining the carbon balance of terrestrial ecosystems.
Classroom note: An equivalence relation

Equivalence relations with a non-transparent transitive property are scarce in textbook examples. The equivalence relation given here is not only one with an interesting transitive property to prove, but also one that is instructive for students who are encountering proofs and relations for the first time.
Transmittance and reflection loss of multi-plate planar window of a solar-radiation collector: Formulas and tabulations of results for the case n = 1·5

Abstract Presented below is a matrix-method derivation of the formulas for the transmittance, also reflection loss, of a multi-plate window of a flat-plate solar-radiation collector. The general method is applicable to any number of parallel, transparent, absorbing or non-absorbing glass plates. Tabulations are presented for windows consisting of 1, 2, or 3 plates of non-absorbing glass of index 1·5; they apply to (a) unidirectional (“direct”) radiation incident at any specified angle-from-the-normal and (b) wide-angle (“diffuse”) radiation of any specified cone-width. Formulas most readily available in the very recent literature are not quite correct inasmuch as polarization-by-oblique-reflection was not treated properly. Earlier formulas were correct but were not accompanied by detailed tabulations.
Techniques for Generating Descriptive Fingerprints in Combinatorial Libraries

One of the problems encountered in handling computer representations of combinatorial libraries (especially “virtual libraries”) is the extremely large number of compounds which may be covered by even quite simple libraries. This paper discusses work on the generation of structure fingerprints for the compounds in a library, which avoids the need to enumerate the compounds themselves by utilizing techniques originally developed for handling Markush structures in chemical patents.
HCN and chemical evolution: The possible role of cyano compounds in prebiotic synthesis

Synthese et distribution de HCN. Autocondensation de HCN: obtention de nitriles ou de liants oligomeres. Role possible des composes cyano comme agents de condensation
Duality, axion charge, and quantum mechanical hair☆

Abstract Scattering of an axion charge off an oriented fundamental or cosmic axion string is shown to be equivalent to (three-dimensional) Aharonov-Casher scattering through a duality transformation. This allows us to determine the differential cross section, and also to further elucidate the relation between the Aharonov-Casher and the Aharonov-Bohm effects. We also demonstrate the existence of a regular soliton solution with axion charge and quantum hair similar to a previously obtained classical axionic black hole.
Breaking bonds with electrons: Dissociative recombination of molecular ions

Abstract We discuss exciting recent progress in the theoretical description of molecular ion dissociative recombination, with further applications to related processes such as molecular photoionization and rovibrationally-inelastic electron collisions with molecular ions. The techniques are based on quantum defect theory, an efficient tool for characterizing electron–ion collision processes, and on a generalized adiabatic formulation. When needed, the approximation of adiabaticity in the dissociative coordinate is lifted by taking non-adiabatic couplings explicitly into account. We concentrate on a time-independent theoretical framework that has been applied to describe dissociative recombination in ions such as H 3 + , its isotopologues (H 2 D + , D 2 H + and D 3 + ), and HCO + (DCO + ).