cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
The Master S-N Curve Approach to Fatigue Evaluation of Offshore and Marine Structures

As reported in the last OMAE conference (Dong, 2003), a robust structural stress method has been developed and validated for fatigue evaluation of ship structures through a major joint industry project. The structural stress method not only provides a consistent method for characterizing stress concentration effects on fatigue in different joint types and loading modes, but also offers a rapid estimation procedure for stress intensity factors for arbitrary joint geometries and loading modes in fracture mechanics context. As a result, a master S-N curve approach has been recently developed by using the mesh-insensitive structural stress parameter and its direct linkage to fracture mechanics principles. The master S-N curve is described by an equivalent structural stress range parameter which provides a single parameter description of stress concentration effects, thickness effects, and loading mode effects on fatigue in welded joints. A massive amount of S-N data since 1947, encompassing drastically different joint types, plate thickness, and loading modes have been used to validate the effectiveness of the master S-N curve approach. With the master S-N curve method, plate joints in ship structures, tubular joints in offshore structures, as well as pipe joints for riser applications can be collapsed into a singe curve, referred to as the master S-N curve. This paper provides the detailed theoretical development, application examples, and validation results. The applications for the master S-N curve approach will be illustrated by using various offshore/marine examples.Copyright © 2004 by ASME
Direct sequencing of the gene for Maryland/German familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy type II and genotyping by allele-specific enzymatic amplification.

Abstract Direct genomic DNA sequencing has been used to characterize the mutation associated with familial amyloidotic polyneuropathy in the Maryland/German kindred. A mutation of thymine to adenine in the prealbumin (transthyretin) gene at the position corresponding to the second base of codon 58 in the prealbumin mRNA gives a histidine for leucine substitution in the plasma protein. Since the mutation does not result in a change in the restriction pattern of the prealbumin gene, a new method for the direct detection of single base changes in genomic DNA was developed using the polymerase chain reaction and an allelespecific oligonucleotide primer.
Effectiveness and Cost Effectiveness of Expanding Harm Reduction and Antiretroviral Therapy in a Mixed HIV Epidemic: A Modeling Analysis for Ukraine

Background Injection drug use (IDU) and heterosexual virus transmission both contribute to the growing mixed HIV epidemics in Eastern Europe and Central Asia. In Ukraine—chosen in this study as a representative country—IDU-related risk behaviors cause half of new infections, but few injection drug users (IDUs) receive methadone substitution therapy. Only 10% of eligible individuals receive antiretroviral therapy (ART). The appropriate resource allocation between these programs has not been studied. We estimated the effectiveness and cost-effectiveness of strategies for expanding methadone substitution therapy programs and ART in mixed HIV epidemics, using Ukraine as a case study.
Human-Animal Interaction in a Prison Setting: Impact on Criminal Behavior, Treatment Progress, and Social Skills

This quasi-experimental field study evaluated the effects of a forensic human-animal interaction (HAI) program on the criminal behavior of prison inmates. The study assessed the impact of the HAI program using between-subject methods and analyses. A total of 48 male inmates participated in the research by allowing researchers access to their institutional files and completing self-report measures. In general, it was hypothesized the HAI program would result in positive behavioral and psychosocial outcomes for inmates. Dependent measures included the frequency of institutional infractions, inmate treatment level within the prison's therapeutic community, and social skills. Analyses compared two groups of inmates in a pretest-posttest repeated-measures design, comparing a Treatment group with a Control group. Results indicated that inmates in the Treatment group evidenced statistically significant improvements in these dependent measures in comparison to the Control group.
Antistaphylococcal Activities of Telavancin Tested Alone and in Combination by Time-Kill Assay

Synergy time-kill studies against 40 methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) strains of differing resistance phenotypes were conducted. Subinhibitory concentrations of telavancin were combined with sub-MIC concentrations of other antimicrobial agents that might be used in combination with telavancin to provide Gram-negative coverage. The highest incidence of synergy was found after 24 h with gentamicin (90% of strains), followed by ceftriaxone (88%), rifampin and meropenem (each 65%), cefepime (45%), and ciprofloxacin (38%) for combinations tested at or below the intermediate breakpoint for each agent.
The design of reconfigurable planar log-periodic dipole array (LPDA) using switching elements

This paper shows the design of a reconfigurable log periodic dipole array antenna (LPDA). The design is based on utilizing switches and high resistive DC bias lines to achieve the reconfigurable LPDA. The operating frequency and maximum directivity of the design can be manipulated according to the switches positions and their state (‘on’ or ‘off’). The simulated and measured results of the return loss and gain responses are shown. The results are promising for the implementation of such new reconfigurable antenna designs.
Role of Posttranslational Protein Modifications in Epididymal Sperm Maturation and Extracellular Quality Control

The epididymal lumen is a complex microenvironment in which spermatozoa acquire motility and fertility. Spermatozoa are synthetically inactive and therefore the maturation process requires their interaction with proteins that are synthesized and secreted in a highly regionalized manner by the epididymal epithelium. In addition to the integration of epididymal secretory proteins, posttranslational modifications of existing sperm proteins are important for sperm maturation and acquisition of fertilizing potential. Phosphorylation, glycosylation, and processing are several of the posttranslational modifications that sperm proteins undergo during epididymal transit resulting in changes in protein function and localization ultimately leading to mature spermatozoa. In addition to these well-characterized modifications, protein aggregation and cross-linking also occur within the epididymal lumen and may represent unique mechanisms for controlling protein function including that for maturation as well as for extracellular quality control.
Detection of Selected Pharmaceutical Contaminants and Removal Efficiency of Emerging Contaminants by Application of Membrane Filtration Technology

Removal of emerging contaminants is considered to be one of the most important processes within advanced Waste Water Treatment Plants (WWTPs) system. Pharmaceutical contaminants in drinking water could potentially lead to human’s increasing risks of heart attacks, organ damage, mental health and even cancer. This paper investigates the emerging contaminant removal efficiencies of technologies employed by local WWTPs. After determining the presence of selected emerging contaminants (17β-estradiol, Acetaminophen, Carbamazepine, Diclofenac, Erythromycin, Estrone, Bezafibrate, Fluoxetine, Gemfibrozil, Ibuprofen, Lincomycin, Metoprolol, Naproxen, Ofloxacin, Sulfamethoxazole and Triclosan) in the waterbodies within the watershed of Lake Michigan in Northwest Indiana (NWI). Three of the contaminants above are chosen for lab experiments by considering their effects on human’s health and environment. A membrane filtration experiment is conducted in Purdue Water Institute (PWI) as preliminary studies on the removal of selected emerging contaminants. Meanwhile, application of Powdered Activated Carbon (PAC) and simulation of coagulation/flocculation are designed as combined experiment with membrane filtration for evaluation of feasibility of using these techniques.© 2014 ASME
Avoiding Complications in Periacetabular Osteotomy

The Bernese periacetabular osteotomy is a surgical procedure used to reorient the acetabulum while preserving posterior column pelvic continuity, retaining the shape of the true pelvis, and allowing for large manipulations in multiple planes1. This procedure has been used in skeletally mature patients with acetabular dysplasia and acetabular version abnormalities to improve femoral head coverage, to translate the hip joint medially, and to redistribute weight-bearing forces more evenly across the acetabulum2,3. Long-term follow-up has shown improvement in hip pain and function after periacetabular osteotomy in patients with acetabular dysplasia4. When performing a periacetabular osteotomy, it is necessary to have a firm understanding of surgical anatomy and technique, meticulous preoperative planning, and regular postoperative follow-up. Given the complexity and steep learning curve associated with periacetabular osteotomy, there is the potential for several complications …
We are Never Ever Getting Back Together: Domestic Violence Victims, Defendants and Due Process

In our mobile society, victims of domestic violence are fleeing from abuse across state lines with increasing frequency. When a victim then seeks a civil protection order (CPO) in her state of refuge, courts must consider difficult questions relating to personal jurisdiction over the nonresident defendant. In some cases, interstate communications (e.g. a harassing text message or threatening You-Tube video) enable the state of refuge to assume personal jurisdiction over the out-of-state defendant pursuant to the state’s long-arm statute. However, in many instances, communications across state lines will not resolve the challenging jurisdictional questions raised by interstate flight domestic violence cases. Courts with no personal jurisdiction over a nonresident defendant in a CPO case should consider an alternative ground for jurisdiction, specifically the status exception to personal jurisdiction utilized in other family law contexts including divorce and child welfare cases. Although not well known outside of the area of family law, the status exception is a well established mechanism, recognized by the U.S. Supreme Court, which allows states to offer limited relief to citizens in family law in matters involving out-of-state defendants. State courts have begun to grapple with the potential use of the status exception in CPO cases which requires states must balance the victim’s constitutional right to bodily integrity and the state’s own interest in protecting domestic violence victims against the constitutional due process rights of nonresident defendants. However, only seven states have reported decisions on point and their opinions offer a variety of approaches with some states utilizing the status exception, but in different ways, and other states rejecting the application of the status exception to CPO cases. Only one other scholar has addressed this topic in a student note which rejected the use of the status exception in CPO cases in a particular state. This Article proposes an intermediate solution which requires neither ignoring nor absolutely prioritizing the interests of nonresident defendants while still offering some protection to victims. Specifically, it recommends that courts employ a status determination to enter a temporary, renewable civil protection order providing limited relief consistent with that available in other status exception cases. By respecting the rights of both victims and defendants, this solution offers the best opportunity to achieve greater clarity in the law and promote some protection for victims without trampling the rights of defendants.
Effects of acid challenges on type 2 angiotensin II receptor-sensitive ammonia production by the proximal tubule

Angiotensin II (ANG II) acting through its type 1 (AT1) receptor stimulates total ammonia (tNH3) production by the proximal tubule. The present studies explored the role of ANG II type 2 (AT2) rece...
Effects of nano-scale additives on the linear burning rate of nitromethane

Abstract This paper examines the effects of various nanoparticle additives on the combustion behavior of nitromethane, using a pressure-based method recently demonstrated by the authors to measure the linear burning rates of liquid monopropellants and heterogeneous mixtures with high precision. The linear burning rates of these mixtures were measured in a constant-volume system at chamber pressures ranging from 3 to 14 MPa, all without direct observation of the burning front. Nano-scale aluminum was used to increase the overall energy density of the mixture, fumed silica powder was used to increase the mixture thickness and encourage aluminum suspension, and nano-scale titania was also included based on its previous use as a burning rate modifier in solid propellants. The silica loading was varied from 1% to 3% by weight, aluminum was varied from 5% to 13.5% by weight, and titania was added at 1% by weight. The use of fumed silica yielded increased burning rates compared to those of neat nitromethane, and the pressure exponent of the burning rate curve shifted from lower to higher than the nitromethane baseline as more silica was added. This increased pressure sensitivity for mixtures containing 3% silica by weight was previously unobserved in similar studies by other groups and may be an effect of the higher specific surface area of the currently used silica. The subsequent addition of aluminum led to even faster burning rates and higher pressure exponents for all but one mixture. The addition of titania also led to elevated burning rates, with dramatically increased pressure sensitivity and rate inconsistency for chamber pressures above approximately 8 MPa but a decreased pressure sensitivity for the same mixture below 8 MPa. These changes in combustion behavior that accompanied titania were diminished by the presence of aluminum and completely negated in mixtures also containing fumed silica.
Effect of Twospotted Spider Mites (Acari: Tetranychidae) on Large-Seeded, Virginia-Type Peanuts

Even relatively small (0.1 to 11.5 per leaf), late-occurring populations of the twospotted spider mite, Tetranychus urticae Koch, had measurable detrimental effects on yields and value of large-seeded, Virginia-type peanuts over a period of 3 years. Large (10.7 to 20.8 leaf) populations occurring midway through the growing season reduced peanut yields by 2,803 kg/ha. Pre-infestation sprays of the acaricides dicofol, carbophenothion, and monocrotophos prevented population increases. The systemic insecticide aldicarb was effective as a preplant in-furrow treatment, as a split application (preplant plus early pegging), or as a pegging application. Carbofuran and disulfoton allowed spider mite populations to increase. The fungicides triphenyltin hydroxide, benomyl + mancozeb, and captafol, when applied on schedule, allowed population levels to increase to intermediate levels.
Revealing dipolar coupling with NQR off-resonant pulsed spin locking

Unexpectedly, we observe a strong Gaussian decay in the nuclear quadrupole resonance signal obtained from a powder sample of spin-1 nuclei under perturbation by off-resonant radio frequency pulses. Using a model composed of just pairs of nuclei, we theoretically determine that the decay is due to the homonuclear dipolar coupling being selectively unrefocused by the pulses. We find that the decay rate measures the dipolar coupling's strength and permits us to determine how much of the sample's linewidth is due to homonuclear dipolar coupling versus electric-field gradient inhomogeneity. Furthermore, knowing the strength, shape, frequency, and timing of the pulses that lead to this rapid decay is critical for the purposes of illicit substance detection since it reduces the signal and can lead to a false negative. We find that the experimental parameters that lead to this Gaussian decay are explained well by this simple model, which leads to a method for suppressing or revealing the decay. We confirm our theoretical understanding using two samples of sodium nitrite that vary in their broadening due to electric-field gradient inhomogeneity by as much as a factor of 3.
Determination of molybdenum of molybdenum trioxide by spectrophotometry with thiourea

A spectrophotometric method for determination of molybdenum in molybdenum trioxide with potassium thiocyanate was studied in the present of potassium thiocyanate as a depressant and thiourea as a reductant.Sample was dissolved in sodium hydroxide(1 mol/L).After adding cuprum sulphate and sulfuric acid,Mo(Ⅵ) in the solution is reduced to Mo(Ⅴ) by thiourea.Mo forms an orange complex with potassium thiocyanate,which can be measured at wavelength of 460 nm.RSD of the method is 0.44%.When the added amount of standard matter is close to that of sample,the recovery rate of molybdenum is in the range of 98.5%~99.7%.
Bedside evaluation of postoperative sinus node function in children

Sinus node dysfunction in children frequently results from the surgical correction of congenital heart defects. We evaluated postoperative sinus node function at the bedside in 25 children by utilizing atrial epicardial electrodes which were placed near the sinus node at the time of operation. Sinoatrial conduction times (SACTs) and corrected sinus node recovery times (CSNRTs) were determined within 3 days of operation in each patient. Group 1 consisted of 20 patients (aged 1 month to 13 years) with normal postoperative sinus node function. Mean (+/- SD) SACTs and CSNRTs were 122 +/- 33 msec (range 61 to 187 msec) and 165 +/- 54 msec (range 52 to 253 msec), respectively. Preoperative evaluation of sinus node function during cardiac catheterization showed that preoperative and postoperative SACTs and CSNRTs were not significantly different (p greater than 0.05) in any of nine patients. Group 2 was composed of five children (aged 1 to 14 years) with postoperative sinus node dysfunction. Three had abnormal SACTs of 230 msec or greater and two children had first-degree sinus node entrance block. Two patients had prolonged CSNRTs. Electrocardiographic (ECG) monitoring revealed evidence of sinus node dysfunction in four of the five patients in Group 2. This report describes a simple and safe means of evaluating postoperative sinus node function at the bedside. The data are comparable to those obtained using more conventional methods during cardiac catheterization.
Umbra: Embedded Web Security Through Application-Layer Firewalls

Embedded devices with web interfaces are prevalent, but, due to memory and processing constraints, implementations typically make use of Common Gateway Interface (CGI) binaries written in low-level, memory-unsafe languages. This creates the possibility of memory corruption attacks as well as traditional web attacks. We present Umbra, an application-layer firewall specifically designed for protecting web interfaces in embedded devices. By acting as a “friendly man-in-the-middle,” Umbra can protect against attacks such as cross-site request forgery (CSRF), information leaks, and authentication bypass vulnerabilities. We evaluate Umbra’s security by analyzing recent vulnerabilities listed in the CVE database from several embedded vendors and find that it would have prevented half of the vulnerabilities. We also show that Umbra comfortably runs within the constraints of an embedded system while incurring minimal performance overhead.
Building a Multidisciplinary Hospital-Based Wound Care Center: Nuts and Bolts.

A hospital-based wound care center provides an important platform for the multidisciplinary approach to wound care. The colocation of specialists is an ideal working environment for the efficient delivery of quality care of the complex wound through daily communication and shared resources. We describe the critical components necessary in building a hospital-based wound care center. Furthermore, the experience at the authors’ institution in developing the multidisciplinary approach is discussed. Readily available ancillary services, specially trained personnel, continuum of care from the outpatient clinic to admission to surgery, and inpatient and outpatient post operative care all contribute to a process that is especially amenable to the care of the complex wound. The final goal is to return the patient to the best quality of life achievable given his or her wound or disability. The aim of this study is to present the authors’ experiences and provide insight for others who may want to build this model within their institutions.
The Top 100 Cited Papers in Health Care Disparities: a Bibliometric Analysis

Health care disparities research is an exponentially growing and multi-faceted field. Our objective was to identify and analyze the top 100 cited articles in health care disparities. The authors searched the Thomas Reuters Web of Science for citations of all research papers (articles) relevant to health care disparities. After analyzing search results, the number of citations, authorship, year, journal, country of publication, institution of publication, and relevant topic were recorded for each article. The most cited article was Martin's 2002 work identifying the demography of incidence and occurrence of sepsis with specific analysis of race, sex, and disposition of US patients. The second most cited article was Kamangar's 2006 paper outlining geographic patterns in cancer incidence, mortality, and prevalence. The third most cited article was Williams' 1996 study determining the differences in US health patterns in populations of different races and socioeconomic statuses through a review of similar studies. The majority of articles originated in the USA (91). The journal with the most published articles was JAMA-The Journal of the American Medical Association (14). The second most cited journal was The New England Journal of Medicine (7). Most articles were published in the 2000s (84). In descending order, the 3 most common topics were (1) disparities in cancer incidence, screening, treatment, and mortality, (2) disparities in mental health treatment, and (3) physician concordance, cultural competency, and relationships with minority patients. Overall, the highly cited articles contain current advancements in the body of knowledge used to resolve health care disparities in race, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, gender, age, wealth, education level, mental health, and geography throughout the world.
Comparing ramp rate control method for PV-energy storage systems in cascaded and parallel architectures

Energy storage systems (ESS) are broadly employed to smooth out the fluctuation in the PV output caused by cloud passing, or variability of solar irradiance with a high ramp rate. This paper compares the smoothing operation, and ramp rate control in two different architectures: cascaded and parallel topologies. Parallel architecture with reduced number of power switches, simpler controller, and as a retrofit for common three phase inverters improves the obtained efficiency, however cascaded architecture in which two PV and ESS modules are connected in series provides better flexibility, and faster response time to ramp rate variations. In this paper, detailed comparison of the architectures is explained and their performance to reduce the ramp rate is investigated.
Acceptance of the Dana Medal of the Mineralogical Society of America for 2001

Science has been a passion in my life since my grade school days. My interests in mineralogy began with an interest in the color of small pieces of minerals given to me by a friend. The minerals included fluorite, spodumene and elbaite (tourmaline). I was particularly interested in the color of watermelon tourmaline. Questions to my teachers about the origin of the colors did not yield satisfactory answers. Furthermore, I grew up on the glacial till and was also fascinated that, unlike anything I found locally, a mineral like tourmaline could be transparent like a piece of glass. This curiosity led to a life-long quest to understand color in minerals.
Thermal conductivity and annealing effect on structure of lignin-based microscale carbon fibers

Abstract This work reports on systematic investigation of the structure and thermal conductivity of lignin-based carbon fibers (CF) at the microscale. The lignin-based CF is produced by melt-spinning pyrolytic lignin derived from red oak. The 0 K-limit phonon scattering mean free path uncovers a characteristic structure size of ∼1.2 nm, which agrees well with the crystallite size by X-ray scattering (0.9 and 1.3 nm) and the cluster size by Raman spectroscopy (2.31 nm). The thermal conductivity of as-prepared CFs is determined at ∼1.83 W/m·K at room temperature. The thermal reffusivity of CFs shows little change from room temperature down to 10 K, uncovering the existence of extensive defects and grain boundaries which dominate phonon scattering. The localized thermal conductivity of CFs is increased by more than ten-fold after being annealed at ∼2800 K, to a level of 24 W/m·K. Our microscale Raman scanning from less annealed to highly annealed regions shows one-fold increase of the cluster size: from 1.83 nm to 4 nm. This directly confirms structure improvement by annealing. The inverse of the thermal conductivity is found linearly proportional to the annealing temperature in the range of 1000–2800 K.
Abstract P332: Effects of Intravenous Infusion of Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids and Dextrose on Blood Pressure and Endothelial Function in Obese Subjects

Hyperglycemia and elevated free fatty acids (FFAs) are implicated in the development of hypertension and endothelial dysfunction. We recently reported that 8-hour infusion of soy-bean oil containing polyunsaturated fatty acids (Intralipid) results in the elevation of blood pressure (BP) and endothelial dysfunction in obese healthy subjects. However, the effects of dextrose infusion or combination of dextrose and Intralipid on BP, endothelial function and insulin action are not known. Accordingly, we compared the effects of 8-hour infusion of normal saline at 40 ml/hr, Intralipid 20% at 40 mL/hr, dextrose 10% at 40 ml/hr and combination of Intralipid and dextrose on BP, endothelial function in 12 obese healthy subjects [ages:41±7 yrs, BMI:32±2 kg/m 2 , BP:113/65 mmHg, HOMA-IR: 2.0±1.0]. Blood pressure, brachial artery flow-mediated dilatation (FMD), and levels of FFAs, glucose, and insulin were measured at 0, 4 and 8 h of infusion. Intralipid infusion significantly increased BP, decreased FMD, and increased plasma FFAs (Table). Unlike Intralipid alone, the combination of Intralipid and dextrose did not increase BP but resulted in FMD changes similar to Intralipid alone. Levels of plasma glucose and insulin increased over time after dextrose infusion alone or in combination with Intralipid but not with lipid infusion alone. Compared with Intralipid, the addition of dextrose to Intralipid led to restoration of FFAs to normal level. In summary, Intralipid but not dextrose infusion alone or in combination with Intralipid results in significant elevation in blood pressure in obese healthy subjects. In contrast, dextrose administration had no effect on Intralipid-induced endothelial dysfunction. The mechanisms underlying differences in vascular response after addition of dextrose to Intralipid are not known, but these results indicate that dextrose-induced mild hyperinsulinemia may regulate adverse hemodynamic effects of fat administration in obese subjects.
Job satisfaction, work environment and successful ageing: Determinants of delaying retirement among acute care nurses

AIM To determine the relationships between job satisfaction, work environment and successful ageing and how these factors relate to Registered Nurses' intent to retire. BACKGROUND Although little studied, retention of older nurses by delaying early retirement, before age 65, is an important topic for research. Qualitative and quantitative studies have indicated that job satisfaction work environment and successful ageing are key motivators in acute care Registered Nurses retention and/or delaying retirement. This study was designed to provide information to administrators and policy makers about retaining older, experienced RNs longer and more productively. DESIGN This was a correlational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. METHODS An online survey of acute care Registered Nurses (N = 2,789) aged 40 years or older working in Florida was conducted from September - October 2013. Participants completed items related to job satisfaction, work environment, successful ageing and individual characteristics. Hypotheses derived from the modified Ellenbecker's Job Retention Model were tested using regression analysis. RESULTS Job satisfaction scores were high. Highest satisfaction was with scheduling issues and co-workers; lowest with advancement opportunities. Successful ageing scores were also high with 81% reporting excellent or good health. Work environment explained 55% of the variance in job satisfaction. Years to retirement were significantly associated with successful ageing (p < .001), age (p < .001) and income (p < .010). CONCLUSIONS This study provides quantitative evidence that environment and successful ageing are important areas that have an impact on job satisfaction and delay of retirement in older nurses and further studies in these areas are warranted to expand on this knowledge.
The Art of Wartime Propaganda: Chen Lin's Xi Written on Behalf of Yuan Shao and Cao Cao

By the second and the third century in China, the strategic employment of refined literary language as a form of propaganda was highly sophisticated. The men at the center of the power struggles of...
A Defense of Representational Realism

Abstract In this paper I defend the claim visual perception is indirect in the sense that what we ordinarily take as being the front surfaces of objects being “seen” in fact consists of phenomenal events in a private phenomenal mental space. The perception of distal physical objects is then held to be indirect due to the linkage of these phenomenal events with these distal objects by means of causal chains. I defend this claim against a series of objections including that the position results in various sorts of regresses that visual perception is manifestly not mediated by something else, that it results in the claim that we in some sense just perceive pictures of objects and not the objects themselves, and that the position inherently involves a violation of the ordinary language of perception.
LARP7-like protein Pof8 regulates telomerase assembly and poly(A)+TERRA expression in fission yeast

Telomerase is a reverse transcriptase complex that ensures stable maintenance of linear eukaryotic chromosome ends by overcoming the end replication problem, posed by the inability of replicative DNA polymerases to fully replicate linear DNA. The catalytic subunit TERT must be assembled properly with its telomerase RNA for telomerase to function, and studies in Tetrahymena have established that p65, a La-related protein 7 (LARP7) family protein, utilizes its C-terminal xRRM domain to promote assembly of the telomerase ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complex. However, LARP7-dependent telomerase complex assembly has been considered as unique to ciliates that utilize RNA polymerase III to transcribe telomerase RNA. Here we show evidence that fission yeast Schizosaccharomyces pombe utilizes the p65-related protein Pof8 and its xRRM domain to promote assembly of RNA polymerase II-encoded telomerase RNA with TERT. Furthermore, we show that Pof8 contributes to repression of the transcription of noncoding RNAs at telomeres.
The Continuing Evolution of Auditor Reporting in the Broker-Dealer Industry: Issues and Opportunities

SUMMARY Over the past decade, there have been significant changes to the regulatory environment for broker-dealer (BD) audits, as it shifted from private to public oversight. These changes unfolded...
Detecting gastroparesis: 3 hour versus 4 hour gastric emptying study

2105 Objectives A recommended gastric emptying protocol (J Nucl Med Technol. 2008;36:44-54) requires imaging at 0, 1, 2, & 4 hrs. after ingestion of a standardized radiolabeled meal. The purpose of this retrospective investigation was to determine if the study could be terminated at 3 hrs. without adversely affecting test accuracy. Methods The study group consisted of 109 patients, 34 men & 75 women (mean age 54±20 yrs.) who underwent a standard 4 hr. gastric emptying protocol. At the time of the test, no patient was taking medication that could affect test results. For purposes of the study, gastroparesis was defined as > 10% gastric retention at 4 hrs. Receiver Operating Characteristic (ROC) analysis was used to determine the gastric retention value at 3 hrs. that best discriminated between patients with & without gastroparesis. Results ROC analysis indicated that a gastric retention value of > 25% at 3 hrs. most accurately predicted gastroparesis (ROC area = 95%±3%). By this criterion, there was “good agreement” (kappa = 0.77) between 3 & 4 hr. results for differentiating normal from abnormal gastric emptying, with no significant difference (McNemar Δ = 2.8%, p=0.45). Specificity (98%) of the 3 hr. test for detecting gastroparesis was high; sensitivity (75%) was lower. Positive predictive value of the 3 hr. test was 88%; the negative predictive value was 95%. Conclusions More than 25% gastric retention at 3 hrs. accurately diagnoses gastroparesis & the study can be terminated; 25% or less gastric retention at 3 hrs., however, does not exclude gastroparesis, & the test must continue through 4 hrs.
Numerically Analyzing Linear Multicriteria Optimization Problems

The topic of numerical methods in multicriteria optimization lends itself to many interpretations, and, of course, much has been written on the subject. This chapter will not be a survey of the numerical techniques of multicriteria optimization (MCO). Those interested in such a work should see, for example, the book of Hwang and Masud (Ref. 1). Nor will this chapter contain comparisons of the numerical efficiency of a variety of MCO algorithms. Instead, this work will be on my views and experience in numerically analyzing “real” linear MCO problems and the mathematics necessary for such an analysis. Of course, “real” means MCO problems as I have encountered them in applications. Imaginary (or unreal) must therefore refer to all the rest.
Structural and metabolic characteristics of human skeletal muscle following 30 days of simulated microgravity.

The effects of simulated microgravity (30 days of continuous 6-deg headdown bedrest, BR) on the structural and metabolic characteristics of human skeletal muscle were determined. Percutaneous needle biopsy samples obtained from the vastus lateralis and soleus muscles before and after the headdown BR were analyzed for histochemical, biochemical and ultrastructual changes. It was found that headdown BR led to decreases in both fast-twitch and slow-twitch fiber areas in both muscles, and there was evidence of remodeling of the ultrastructure in both muscles. The activities of beta-hydroxyacyl-CoA dehydrogenase and citrate synthase were reduced during BR, but phosphofructokinase and lactate dehydrogenase activities did not change. The results indicate that 30-d exposure to simulated microgravity decreased the capacity for aerobic energy supply of human skeletal muscle and led to a disorganization of the contractile machinery.
Subprime and Predatory Lending: Legal Regulation

Subprime lending is primarily understood as the extension of credit to those with lower incomes, less wealth, and riskier credit profiles than traditional, ‘prime’, borrowers although the phrase has come to include lending to prime borrowers on subprime terms. Government have been slow to regulate this relatively new consumer credit market. The United States, which has been particularly hard hit by the boom and bust of the subprime market, has a patchwork of federal and state laws that regulate consumer mortgages. Since the subprime crisis, the subprime industry has massively retrenched while legislators and regulators have begun to implement new consumer protection initiatives.
A new genus of terrestrial isopods (Crustacea: Oniscidea: Armadillidae) in Myanmar amber

ABSTRACTA female terrestrial isopod in amber from Myanmar is described as Palaeoarmadillo microsoma gen. et sp. n. (Isopoda: Oniscidea: armadillidae). Placement in the family Armadillidae is based ...
Expanding Religious Accommodation

As previously explained, the employer’s obligation to accommodate religious expression is quite limited. Minimal disruption to operations will be sufficient to avoid having to accommodate the religious beliefs and practices of employees, to include requiring them to perform duties to which they refuse on religious grounds.
Predicting rates of consumer-mediated nutrient cycling by a diverse herbivore assemblage

Herbivores mediate the abundances of primary producers both from the top-down, by consuming them, and from the bottom-up, by recycling nutrients. Whereas the top-down effects of herbivores on algae in marine ecosystems are well-documented, less is known about their roles as mediators of local-scale nutrient availability. We conducted a series of surveys and measurements of tide pools and the grazers in those pools between October of 2016 and June of 2017 at an intertidal site on the coast of Southern California, USA (33°35′16.3″N, 117°52′1.5″W). We surveyed grazer abundances in the field, measured biomass of representatives from four different grazer groups (littorine snails, limpets, chitons, and turban snails), measured ammonium excretion rates, and quantified ammonium accumulation rates in tide pools at our study site. We found that different grazer groups were characterized by different per-biomass ammonium excretion rates. Some grazer groups—turban snails and chitons—contributed more ammonium than predicted by their biomass, whereas other grazer groups—littorine snails and limpets—contributed less ammonium than predicted by biomass. Because of these differences between grazer groups, ammonium accumulation rates in tide pools at our study site were effectively predicted based on the ammonium excretion rates of the different grazer groups. However, ammonium accumulation rates were not related to total herbivore biomass. Our results highlight the importance of grazer identity—and particularly the role of species such as turban snails that contribute disproportionately to nutrient recycling—in understanding the contributions of grazers as mediators of bottom-up processes in marine systems.
Immigrant Selection, Health Requirements, and Disability Discrimination

Australia, Canada, and New Zealand currently apply health requirements to prospective immigrants, denying residency to those with health conditions that are likely to impose an “excessive demand” on their publicly funded health and social service programs. In this paper, I investigate the charge that such policies are wrongfully discriminatory against persons with disabilities. I first provide a freedom-based account of the wrongness of discrimination according to which discrimination is wrong when and because it involves disadvantaging people in the exercise of their freedom on the basis of morally arbitrary features of their identity. Discrimination is permissible, I suggest, when it is necessary to advance a valuable exercise of the discriminating agent’s freedom. I then apply this account to the case of social cost health requirements. Against critics of these requirements, I argue that it is sometimes permissible for states to discriminate against prospective immigrants with disabilities. States may do so, I suggest, when such discriminatory treatment is necessary to prevent an increase in rates of mortality and/or morbidity amongst citizens. Alongside critics of social cost health requirements however, I argue that existing policies are likely a form of wrongful discrimination insofar as they are too broad to satisfy this standard.
Education Day – Spanish Track

Overall Abstract The WCPG 2017 Education Day Spanish Track is an initiative from the Diversity Taskforce aimed to provide a high-quality update in the field of psychiatric genetics to clinicians and early career professionals from Latin America interested in this research field, provided in their language. We propose to summarize up-to-date knowledge in Psychiatric Genetics, with a series of take home messages from each presentation that can be incorporated into their practice or transmitted to other colleagues in residency or research programs. Resources from these presentations will be made available to the audience and creation of a research network will be proposed.
WFIRST low order wavefront sensing and control (LOWFS/C) performance on line-of-sight disturbances from multiple reaction wheels

WFIRST Coronagraph Instrument (CGI) uses its Low Order Wavefront Sensing and Control (LOWFS/C) subsystem to maintain the coronagraph contrast in presence of wavefront disturbances from the WFIRST observatory. The Occulting Mask Coronagraph (OMC) dynamic testbed is used to demonstrate LOWFS/C performance together with the coronagraphs. We have demonstrated that LOWFS/C can maintain coronagraph contrast to better than 10-8 in presence of WFIRST-like LoS and low order WFE disturbances for both Hybrid Lyot Coronagraph (HLC) and Shaped Pupil Coronagraph (SPC) modes. However, in our previous tests the LoS disturbances simulated on the testbed were from the modeling of a single reaction wheel with a quasi-static wheel speed. In this paper we will describe the LOWFS/C LoS performance test in which the injected LoS disturbances are derived from all six reaction wheels on WFIRST, each with an independent varying wheel speed profile modeled for a typical coronagraph observational scenario. We will describe the LoS disturbances profile and testbed implementation approach. We will present the LOWFS/C LoS feedback and feed forward loops testbed performance under these realistic LoS disturbances in which we have demonstrated the LoS control that meets the CGI requirement.
VRiAssist: An Eye-Tracked Virtual Reality Low Vision Assistance Tool

We present VRiAssist, an eye-tracking-based visual assistance tool designed to help people with visual impairments interact with virtual reality environments. VRiAssist’s visual enhancements dynamically follow a user’s gaze to project corrections on the affected area of the user’s eyes. VRiAssist provides a distortion correction tool to revert the distortions created by bumps on the retina, a color/brightness correction tool that improves contrast and color perception, and an adjustable magnification tool. The results of a small 5 person user study indicate that VRiAssist helped users see better in the virtual environment depending on their level of visual impairment.
Developing an EHR-based Approach to Identify Pediatric Single Ventricle Patients

Introduction Single-ventricle (SV) cardiac defects are a rare but critical group congenital heart diseases requiring complex surgical and medical approaches and follow-up. National registries are increasingly focusing on the standardization of care and outcomes for this demanding group of high risk patients. Despite its importance, electronic health records and other congenital heart centers data systems face a significant challenge in effectively identifying these patients within their patient populations. This abstract describes our experience in the Michigan Congenital Heart Center (MCHC) in developing a computerized approach …
Primary Sources and Intensity of Stressors in an Associate Degree Nursing Program Student Population

The common experience of student stress while completing a nursing education program has been universally acknowledged and documented throughout the literature. However, studies explicitly targeted on stressors for associate degree nursing students (ADN) are limited in the literature. The purpose of this project focused on understanding the primary sources and intensity of stressors in an ADN program student population, using descriptive research methods. Nursing students at a large, urban, public community college in Texas were invited to participate in an anonymous online survey which included demographic questions and Costa and Polak’s Instrument for the Assessment of Stress in Nursing Students. The participant sample had a majority percentage of students who identified as a racial or ethnic minority and a significant percentage of participants with low socioeconomic status. The study results confirmed the presence of stress during all four semesters of nursing school, with reported high and extreme levels of stress caused from both internal and external sources, as related to the students’ program of study. As ADN students have not often been studied with relation to nursing school stress, the findings of the project add important new data to the literature which can be used to build upon the base of knowledge in future research.
A Comparison of Mortuary Practices among the Tucson Basin Hohokam and Trincheras Traditions

Mortuary rituals are compared and contrasted in order to better understand social interaction between the Tucson Basin Hohokam of southern Arizona and the Trincheras tradition populations of northern Sonora. This interaction is explored through the examination of ideas about personhood and embodiment, and their relationship to the biological profiles and posthumous treatments of individuals during the Hohokam Classic period (AD 1150–1450) and the occupation of Cerro de Trincheras (AD 1300–1450). In both areas, cremation was the main burial custom, and both groups had complex, multistage cremation rituals, in which burning of the body played only a small part. Examination of rich archaeological data and well-excavated contexts at these sites revealed remarkable similarities and differences in body treatment during the mortuary ritual. Tucson Basin Hohokam mortuary practices suggest a stronger connection to, and remembrance of, the deceased within smaller social groups. In contrast, mortuary practices at Cerro de Trincheras emphasize similarities among the various cremated individuals, with rituals directed more toward the broader social group. Results suggest that the two groups were fundamentally similar in how they treated the bodies of the dead during the cremation process, but different in how the dead were remembered and commemorated.
Racism, history and medical education.

The year 2020 will be remembered as the year of the COVID-19 pandemic and the year of a sea change in attitudes about race and racism in America. On 25 May, a policeman in Minneapolis calmly put a Black man to death by pressing his knee into the neck of the handcuffed, prostrate victim and holding it there for over 8 min until the man became unresponsive. This execution-style killing was witnessed by millions. It made the myth of a ‘colorblind America’ seem like a bitter joke. The protests in thousands of cities and towns across the USA and in other countries reflected a turning point in recognition by the majority of people a truth that African–Americans had known for centuries: despite the inspiring words of the Enlightenment era revolutions, equality and fraternity had not been achieved in the Western democracies, and all men, however they may have been created, were not treated as equals by societies in which they live. Meanwhile, trainees in the medical professions, along with their senior colleagues, battled the worst pandemic in a hundred years. However, even if not as dramatic and shocking as Derek Chauvin murdering George Floyd on camera, the pandemic revealed the ongoing inequity in survival for African–Americans that holds true for most causes of death in this country, be they age-old maladies or novel infectious diseases. It …