cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Purified human serum PON1 does not protect LDL against oxidation in the in vitro assays initiated with copper or AAPH

Purified serum paraoxonase (PON1) had been shown to attenuate the oxidation of LDL in vitro. We criti- cally reevaluated the antioxidant properties of serum PON1 in the in vitro assays initiated with copper or the free radical generator 2,2 � -azobis-2-amidinopropane hydrochloride (AAPH). The antioxidant activity of different purified PON1 prepa- rations did not correlate with their arylesterase (AE), lacto- nase, or phospholipase A 2 activities or with the amounts of detergent or protein. Dialysis of three of these preparations resulted in a 30-40% loss of their AE activities but in a com- plete loss of their antioxidant activities. We also followed the distribution of the antioxidant activity during human serum PON1 purification by two purification methods. The antioxi- dant activity of the anion-exchange chromatography fractions did not copurify with PON1 using either method and could largely be accounted for by the "antioxidant" activity of the detergent present. In conclusion, using the copper or AAPH in vitro assays, no PON1-mediated antioxidant activ- ity was detected, suggesting that the removal of PON1 from its natural environment may impair its antioxidative activity and that this assay with highly purified PON1 may be an in- appropriate method with which to study the antioxidative properties of the enzyme. —Teiber, J. F., D. I. Draganov, and B. N. La Du. Purified human serum PON1 does not protect LDL against oxidation in the in vitro assays initiated with copper or AAPH. J. Lipid Res. 2004. 45: 2260-2268.
7.1.1 Modeling Pilot Workload for Multi-Aircraft Control of an Unmanned Aircraft System

A demand for increased use of Unmanned Aircraft Systems (UASs) without commensurate increases in pilot manpower has created proposals for the concept of Multiple Aircraft Control (MAC). To understand the potential effect of such proposals, a workload model was developed from pedigreed system architecture which permits the prediction of the effects of MAC on individual pilot workload levels. Results indicate multiple critical factors that affect the implementation of MAC. Although the model suggests that pilots may experience relatively low workload when operating a single UAS during benign operations, workload builds rapidly when the pilot is required to operate three or more aircraft. The results of this model indicate the need for techniques and technology to reduce task and communications demands on UAS pilots to effectively implement MAC.
PASTORAL POWER IN THE POSTCOLONY: On the Biopolitics of the Criminal Animal in South India

In this article, I argue that a close examination of the government of animals by humans is essential for an anthropology of modern biopolitics: for an understanding, that is, of the many ways in which humans themselves have been governed as animals in modern times. I aim also to work toward a way of theorizing such biopolitics in milieus beyond the modern West. Relying on cultural and historical materials from South India, I call attention to three domains of local biopolitical difference: the particular conditions of modernity that constitute certain human lives as an animal object of government, the quotidian practices of care and struggle through which animals are governed in moral terms, and the cultural idioms through which these lives become visible and intelligible as appropriate sites for the exercise of both power and resistance. The empirical ground of this article is formed by three modes of government of human and animal existence in colonial and postcolonial South India: the management of a population of subjects putatively criminal by nature as organisms of instinct and impulse by means of the colonial Indian Criminal Tribes Act; the contemporary echoes of such policing in the everyday practices through which cultivators and plowmen in the region govern the moral conduct of their oxen; and the persistent postcolonial legacies of a Tamil political idiom of “grazing” or restraining populations of human and animal beings deemed incapable of restraining themselves. The intimacy between practices of care and techniques of control in each of these instances suggests that a close attention to animality may provide a way of resolving some of the constitutive paradoxes of the “pastoral” mode of power elaborated by Michel Foucault.
Saturation and Prefilter Distortions of Observed Excitation Spectral Profiles

When the wavelength of a laser is tuned across a spectral line, the spectral positions of the observed peaks of the absorption, fluorescence, or ionization signals may be distorted by saturation and prefilter effects. Theoretical models are presented which predict the spectral shifts that may occur when there is an asymmetry in either the line or laser spectral profiles. Examples are presented that show the appearance of an extra peak, and a dramatic shift equal in magnitude to the half-width of a profile. Spectral broadening is predicted for both symmetric and asymmetric spectral profiles. Line reversal is a predicted prefilter effect, in the absence of saturation. Saturation and prefilter effects are treated separately to emphasize their individual characteristics.
Employee health codes of conduct: what would they look like and who wants to accept them?

Purpose – Most workplace health promotion efforts have failed to consistently and sustainably encourage employees to take responsibility for their health. The purpose of this paper is to explore a potentially high-impact solution – Health Codes of Conduct – for engaging and motivating employees to assume responsibility for their health. Design/methodology/approach – This mixed methods study draws on interview and survey methodology with a sample of 149 working adults to examine the feasibility of Health Codes of Conduct. Descriptive and inferential statistics are calculated to understand reactions, characteristics of the companies likely to support the idea, and components of a Health Code of Conduct. Findings – Nearly all employees offered moderate to high support for Health Codes of Conduct; this included overweight but not obese employees. Additionally, all demographic groups either moderately or strongly supported the policy when they included either monetary incentives (such as prescription discounts...
vManage: loosely coupled platform and virtualization management in data centers

Management is an important challenge for future enterprises. Previous work has addressed platform management (e.g., power and thermal management) separately from virtualization management (e.g., virtual machine (VM) provisioning, application performance). Coordinating the actions taken by these different management layers is important and beneficial, for reasons of performance, stability, and efficiency. Such coordination, in addition to working well with existing multi-vendor solutions, also needs to be extensible to support future new management solutions potentially operating on different sensors and actuators. In response to these requirements, this paper proposes vManage, a solution to loosely couple platform and virtualization management and facilitate coordination between them in data centers. Our solution is comprised of registry and proxy mechanisms that provide unified monitoring and actuation across platform and virtualization domains, and coordinators that provide policy execution for better VM placement and runtime management, including a formal approach to ensure system stability from inefficient management actions. The solution is instantiated in a Xen environment through a platform-aware virtualization manager at a cluster management node, and a virtualization-aware platform manager on each server. Experimental evaluations using enterprise benchmarks show that compared to traditional solutions, vManage can achieve additional power savings (10% lower power) with significantly improved service-level guarantees (71% less violations) and stability (54% fewer VM migrations), at low overhead.
Modeling the reverse base current phenomenon due to avalanche effect in advanced bipolar transistors

A model of reverse base current characteristics which is based on device physics is presented. The model requires only physical parameters, thus allowing circuit designers to estimate the device performance under avalanche operation prior to the actual device fabrication. Previously reported experimental data are included in support of the model. >
A Conserved Deubiquitinating Enzyme Controls Cell Growth by Regulating RNA Polymerase I Stability

Summary Eukaryotic ribosome biogenesis requires hundreds of trans -acting factors and dozens of RNAs. Although most factors required for ribosome biogenesis have been identified, little is known about their regulation. Here, we reveal that the yeast deubiquitinating enzyme Ubp10 is localized to the nucleolus and that ubp10Δ cells have reduced pre-rRNAs, mature rRNAs, and translating ribosomes. Through proteomic analyses, we found that Ubp10 interacts with proteins that function in rRNA production and ribosome biogenesis. In particular, we discovered that the largest subunit of RNA polymerase I (RNAPI) is stabilized via Ubp10-mediated deubiquitination and that this is required in order to achieve optimal levels of ribosomes and cell growth. USP36, the human ortholog of Ubp10, complements the ubp10Δ allele for RNAPI stability, pre-rRNA processing, and cell growth in yeast, suggesting that deubiquitination of RNAPI may be conserved in eukaryotes. Our work implicates Ubp10/USP36 as a key regulator of rRNA production through control of RNAPI stability.
Designing photonic bandgap fibers for particle acceleration

Photonic bandgap (PBG) fibers with hollow core defects have been suggested for use as laser driven accelerator structures. The modes of a photonic crystal fiber lie in a set of allowed bands. A fiber with a central vacuum defect can support so-called defect modes with frequencies in the bandgap and electromagnetic fields confined spatially near the defect. A defect mode suitable for relativistic particle acceleration must have a longitudinal electric field in the central defect and a phase velocity at the speed of light (SOL). We explore the design of the defect geometry to support well confined accelerating modes in such PBG fibers. The dispersion diagram of an accelerating mode must cross the SOL line, and such modes form a special class of defect modes known as surface modes, which are lattice modes of the original PBG crystal that have been perturbed into the bandgap. The details of the surface boundary separating the defect from the surrounding PBG matrix are found to be the critical ingredients for optimizing the accelerator mode properties.
Supplier selection for industry: a fuzzy rule-based scoring approach with a focus on usability

Compared to other selection problems, supplier selection is a particularly challenging application as often there's incomplete or imprecise information about the candidates and the key factors frequently are frequently difficult to quantify. Although the literature is replete with research to support this process, supplier selection decisions remain firmly in the domain of the human expert, while sophisticated decision support methodologies go unused in industry. This paper explores the issue of usability in supplier selection literature and proposes a usability focused methodology that combines elements from fuzzy rule-based expert systems and attribute scoring approaches. The objectives are twofold: to capture the nuances of supplier evaluation to the extent that will satisfy decision makers and to accomplish this in an intuitive manner so that the methodology can find acceptance in industry. The methodology is followed by a discussion of the tests carried out with an apparel company.
Evolution of cosmic string networks.

A discussion of the evolution and observable consequences of a network of cosmic strings is given. A simple model for the evolution of the string network is presented, and related to the statistical mechanics of string networks. The model predicts the long string density throughout the history of the universe from a single parameter, which researchers calculate in radiation era simulations. The statistical mechanics arguments indicate a particular thermal form for the spectrum of loops chopped off the network. Detailed numerical simulations of string networks in expanding backgrounds are performed to test the model. Consequences for large scale structure, the microwave and gravity wave backgrounds, nucleosynthesis and gravitational lensing are calculated.
Characterization and Performance of a Zr/Ti Pretreatment Conversion Coating on AA2024-T3

Theformation,structureandcorrosionperformanceofacommercialZr/Ti-basedconversioncoating(BonderiteM-NT5200,HenkelCorp.) on AA2024-T3 was investigated. This coating bath consists of a mixture of ﬂuorozirconic and ﬂuorotitanic acids (ca. 1:3) ata pH of 2–3. The coating was formed on polished, degreased and deoxidized specimens by immersion, and was characterized byscanning electron microscopy, transmission electron microscopy, energy dispersive X-ray analysis and Auger electron spectroscopy(depth proﬁling) for coating morphology and chemical composition. Electrochemical methods were used to assess the corrosioninhibition provided by the coating. The coating consists of a hydrated ZrO
To Bend a Dolphin: Convergence of Force Transmission Designs in Cetaceans and Scombrid Fishes1

The similarity in swimming style and external body shape between dolphins and scombrid fishes, especially tunas, is a textbook example of evolutionary convergence. I identify additional morphological features of the musculoskeletal system shared by dolphins and tunas. Specifically, these swimmers share a pattern of force transmission through a complex, three-dimensional system of collagenous fabrics, which are stiffened by muscular hydrostatic pressure. This force transmission system increases both the displacement advantage and moment arm of contracting axial muscle. These features represent a functionally significant design for steady swimming vertebrates.
Maintaining The Security In Internet Marketing: Moving From Biometrics To Behaviometrics

While it is a rather common business practice, Internet marketing is still an area that continues to evolve and adapt. One of the everlasting challenges associated with this field is being able to insure that the online transactions take place in a secure setting. This construct of security appears to be multidimensional since it can include issues associated with secure ordering, hacker protection, firewalls, identity theft, etc. While the privacy of the online consumers has to be protected, it is important for the marketers to identify the users on the Internet to collect a profile of their interests so that they can adjust their site contents accordingly and deliver advertisements that appeal to their specific preferences. Whether the ultimate purpose is to custom-tailor the online messages or offer appropriate product/service options, it is imperative that the identity of the online consumers needs to be authenticated to make sure that there is no security breach in completing the online marketing transactions. This paper reviews some of the ongoing efforts in preventing the potential intrusions in online practices.
A clever technique for placement of a urinary catheter over a wire.

Objective: The objective was to present a straightforward, step-by-step reproducible technique for placement of a guide-wire into any type of urethral catheter, thereby offering a means of access similar to that of a council-tip in a situation that may require a different type of catheter guided over a wire. Materials and Methods: Using a shielded intravenous catheter inserted into the eyelet of a urinary catheter and through the distal tip, a counsel-tip can be created in any size or type of catheter. Once transurethral bladder access has been achieved with a hydrophilic guide-wire, this technique will allow unrestricted use of catheters placed over a wire facilitating guided catheterization. Results: Urethral catheters of different types and sizes are easily advanced into the bladder with wire-guidance; catheterization is improved in the setting of difficult urethral catheterization (DUC). Cost analysis demonstrates benefit overuse of traditional council-tip catheter. Conclusion: Placing urinary catheters over a wire is standard practice for urologists, however, use of this technique gives the freedom of performing wire-guided catheterization in more situations than a council-tip allows. This technique facilitates successful transurethral catheterization over wire in the setting of DUC for all catheter types and styles aiding in urologic management of patients at a cost benefit to the health care system.
Synovectomy and débridement of the knee in rheumatoid arthritis. II. Clinical and roentgenographic study of thirty-one cases.

1. The results of twenty-eight synovectomies and debridements in adults and three synovectomies in children are discussed. Eighty-five per cent of the procedures in adults were performed in late stages of destruction. All adult patients had classic rheumatoid arthritis with multiple joint involvement. Seventy-nine per cent of the knees were rated improved by the patient as compared with 65 per cent rated improved by the examiner. In 46.5 per cent definite or probable recurrence was found. 2. The results and the incidence of recurrence were found to be time dependent and proportional to the general activity of the disease as well as to the extent of damage present at the time of operation. When synovectomy was done bilaterally at an identical stage of the disease, the results were comparable. 3. Scoring of a patient's disability and local disease activity were found to be very useful in order to evaluate the results quantitatively. 4. Joint instability and joint narrowing were used as the criteria of the extent of joint damage and were found to be reliable in predicting the chances of success of synovectomy in a patient with low or moderate disease activity. 5. Angular deformity, antedating rheumatoid involvement, tends to progress rapidly with the onset of arthritis and should probably be corrected early. 6. Recurrence does not always become apparent during the first few months after synovectomy. 7. In advanced stages of destruction the objective of synovectomy is temporary relief of pain and functional improvement. Synovectomy alone is not indicated when there is severe instability and loss of articular cartilage. 8. Synovectomy is strongly indicated for a knee which has shown persistent involvement of short duration when there is advanced joint destruction of the opposite knee. 9. With early mobilization, the range of motion is not significantly affected and does not correlate with the final subjective and objective result in most patients. 10. Only two complications occurred: one a separation of the patellar tendon and the other, thrombophlebitis.
R-PF: Enhancing Service Regularity for Legacy Scheduling Policy

We present a novel scheduling policy, regularity-aware proportional fair (R-PF) that enhances service regularity for the legacy proportional fair (PF) scheduling policy. R-PF addresses the challenge that clients may have different preferences between service regularity and long-term average throughput. R-PF allows clients to specify their own preferences, and then provides services tailored to clients’ specifications. R-PF preserves the advantages of PF, including high spectrum efficiency, fairness among clients, minimal coordination between the base station and clients, and low complexity. We analytically study the performance of R-PF under an i.i.d. channel model. We prove that each client achieves its optimal tradeoff between service regularity and throughput by reporting its true preference. We also prove that the total throughput under R-PF is almost the same as that under PF. Furthermore, we compare the performance of R-PF against other state-of-the-art scheduling policies using trace-based simulations. Simulation results demonstrate that our policy provides the optimal performance for all kinds of clients with different preferences between service regularity and throughput. Simulation results also show that R-PF is backward compatible in that it enhances service regularity for clients who prefer high regularity without sacrificing the throughput for those who prefer high throughput.
Symbols to Power

Complex societies are characterized by a great variety of groups: ethnic, economic, and social-hierarchial. In order for complex societies to function, it is necessary to regulate communication and interaction between groups. This is handled mainly by language. Most complex societies also have writing so that the code that controls appropriate behavior and interaction can be more precise as well as taught and learned more systematically.
Development and testing of a bioartificial liver

The development of an artificial liver is a major challenge because the liver controls, or has an effect on, almost every aspect of metabolism, blood coagulation and fibrinolysis, the immune system, endocrine responses and detoxification. It is believed that devices utilising intact viable hepatocytes have the greatest potential to provide liver support at this level of complexity. In recent years, advances in hepatocyte isolation and culture techniques, better understanding of hepatocyte-matrix interactions, availability of new biomaterials, and improved hollow-fiber technology have resulted in the development of such hepatocyte-based systems. Some of these bioartificial livers (BAL), including the one developed by our group, are currently being tested in the clinical setting [1–5]. In patients with severe acute hepatic failure, their role is to provide physiologic support and to “buy time” until a new liver is procured and to render patients stable and more likely to survive transplantation. There will also be patients who suffer from severe, but potentially reversible liver injury, in whom BAL therapy can potentially serve as the definitive treatment.
Realization of multiple neural activity resolutions via multidimensional ensemble empirical mode decomposition of calcium imaging data: a proof of concept

One of the goals of systems and computational neuroscience is to understand how information is processed by a single neuron and integrated by a network of neurons. A plausible approach to identifying spatial neighborhoods of the brain that host potential neural networks of interest is by observing spatiallybounded aggregates of neural activity. To this end, the potential of the multidimensional ensemble empirical mode decomposition algorithm in extracting multiple resolutions of neural activity from calcium imaging data is evaluated.
Analysis of methyl-mercury level in some fishes that sold in Jilin province in 2010

Objective: To understand the contamination of methyl-mercury in sea Fish samples of Jilin Province and provide the basic data for food safety.Methods: 30 samples from six regions were collected randomly from markets. Samples were extracted with the 25% potassium hydroxide methyl alcohol solution and then separated on a C-18 column and detected by AFS.Results: The content of methyl-mercury in the fish from the places where samples were extracted is below the national standard.Conclusion: The concentration of methyl-mercury in fish that sold in Jilin has much relation with the species,but they were all under the pollutant limit values.The fishes in those places are safe to eat.
The Promise of Interferon Therapy for Parasitic Diseases

Interferons were originally described as antivirals. Over the years, it has become clear that interferons have additional activities, inclduing modulation of host immune responses. As a result of these additional activities, the possibility exists that interferons could play some role in regulation of host resistance to various non-viral infections. Evidence will be discussed suggesting that interferons are induced during the course of several different types of parasitic infections of mammalian hosts. In addition, evidence obtained from in vitro and in vivo experiments will be presented to indicate that interferons could contribute to resistance of hosts to various parasitic infections. The potential for use of interferons in therapy of parasitic diseases will also be discussed.
Political Philosophy, the American Constitutional Heritage, and Constitutional Thinking

Chapter 6 establishes constitutional thinking—an understanding of and engagement with the political ideas and values informing the Constitution’s history and the foundation of American government—as vital for the constitutional competency of career public servants. This chapter covers the three components of constitutional thinking: the Constitution itself, its design (constitutionalization), and the means by which career public servants achieve the goals of government as set forth in the Constitution’s Preamble without jeopardizing the liberty of citizens (constitutionalism). To provide a foundation for such thinking, the chapter traces the evolution of the Constitution’s guiding principles of government’s protection of individual rights and political equality derived from Locke’s political philosophy to their influence on the American founders in drafting the Articles of Confederation and the Constitution.
The Evolution of the Concept of Special Collections in American Research Libraries

In an address delivered on Alumni University Day in 1924, English Professor Chauncey Brewster Tinker, later Yale’s first Keeper of Rare Books, outlined the relationship among University faculty, students, and books: There are three distinguishing marks of a university: a group of students, a corps of instructors, and a collection of books; and of these the most important is the collection of books. By the interaction of these three factors the university manifests its twofold activity to the world. Its scholars, by means of the books provided for them, advance the cause of knowledge and the reign of truth, and . . .
Range-wide assessment of pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus (Forbes & Richardson, 1905) relative condition

Summary Pallid sturgeon Scaphirhynchus albus relative condition has been observed to be declining along the Nebraska reach (rkm 1212.6–801.3) of the Missouri River over the past several years; therefore, pallid sturgeon capture data was synthesized from the entire Missouri and Middle Mississippi rivers to document and compare how pallid sturgeon condition varies spatially and temporally throughout much of their current range. The study area was subdivided into four river reaches based on a priori statistical differences for pallid sturgeon catches from 2003 to 2015. Pallid sturgeon in the Middle Mississippi River (Alton Dam [rkm 321.9]) to the confluence of the Ohio River (rkm 0.0) were in the best condition while pallid sturgeon in the Middle Missouri River (Fort Randall Dam [rkm 1416.2]) to the Grand River confluence (rkm 402.3) were in the poorest condition. Furthermore, pallid sturgeon condition in the Upper Missouri River (Fort Peck Dam [rkm 2850.9] to the headwaters of Lake Sakakawea [rkm 2523.5] and lower Yellowstone River) and the Lower Missouri River (Grand River confluence to the Mississippi River confluence [rkm 0.0]) were significantly less than in the Middle Mississippi River but significantly higher than the Middle Missouri River. Temporally, pallid sturgeon condition was highly variable. Relative condition in the Middle Mississippi River was consistently above average (Kn = 1.1). Comparatively, Kn throughout the Missouri River rarely exceeded “normal” (Kn = 1.0), with Kn in the middle and lower reaches of the Missouri River having declined to the lowest observed. As pallid sturgeon recovery efforts continue, understanding the range-wide differences and effects on condition could be critical, as poor condition may cause maturation delays, reproductive senescence or even mortality, which affects the likelihood of natural reproduction and recruitment.
Critical infrastructure protection and risk analysis in the mid-size city

In this work, we frame a methodology for performing risk analysis for mid-size cities and their metropolitan statistical areas (MSAs) that addresses infrastructure vulnerabilities impacting far beyond the MSA boundaries. We address the challenges and pitfalls in assessing critical infrastructure in these MSAs, discuss inter- and intra-sector dependencies, and present a method to analyze criticality. These studies generate valuable results for emergency manager and planner use, especially since operations in these communities cover a wider geographical area with fewer resources in manpower and equipment. We conclude with recommendations for analysis and decision support tools built upon infrastructure assets, interdependencies, and connections with assets outside the MSA.
A Closed-Form Bayesian Fusion Equation Using Occupancy Probabilities

We present a new mathematical framework for multi-view surface reconstruction from a set of calibrated color and depth images. We estimate the occupancy probability of points in space along sight rays, and combine these estimates using a normalized product derived from Bayes' rule. The advantage of this approach is that the free space constraint is a natural consequence of the formulation, and not a separate logical operation. We present a single closed form implicit expression for the reconstructed surface in terms of the image data and camera projections, making analytic properties such as surface normals not only easy to compute, but exact. This expression can be efficiently evaluated on the GPU, making it ideal for high performance real-time applications, such as live human body capture for immersive telepresence.
From homogeneous eigenvalue problems to two-sex population dynamics

Enclosure theorems are derived for homogeneous bounded order-preserving operators and illustrated for operators involving pair-formation functions introduced by Karl-Peter Hadeler in the late 1980s. They are applied to a basic discrete-time two-sex population model and to the relation between the basic turnover number and the basic reproduction number.
The False Promise of Gun Control

Gun control laws offer little or no promise of reducing crime or violence and if anything run the risk of making things worse. There is no good reason to suppose that increasing the restrictiveness of weapons laws can be counted on to pay off in lessening the incidence or severity of social violence. Violent deviant behavior can be reduced only in an environment where people have more valuable options in life than making trouble for other people.
Kitchen lamps as a cause of mortality for urban insects

Fluorescent lamps in kitchens accumulate grease from cooking oil fumes and become traps for insects, particularly dipterans. New smaller lamps may be less harmful for urban insect populations.
Designing an mHealth application to bridge health disparities in Latina breast cancer survivors: a community-supported design approach

Latina breast cancer patients in the USA report significantly worse cancer-related symptom burden and health-related quality of life than non-Hispanic whites. However, health literacy (e.g. knowled...
AAV-mediated Overexpression of IL-10 Mitigates the Inflammatory Cascade in Stimulated Equine Chondrocyte Pellets.

BACKGROUND Following joint trauma, a posttraumatic inflammatory cascade drives degeneration of the joint. We aimed to assess whether transduction of chondrocytes with AAV5 overexpressing the immunomodulatory cytokine IL-10 would have protective effects in pellet cultures stimulated with IL-1β. METHODS Chondrocytes were isolated from 3 healthy horses and were transduced with AAV5-IL-10 at a dose of 1 x 105vg/cell. Chondrocyte pellets were formed by centrifugation and were stimulated with IL-1β starting 48 hours following transduction. After 2, 6 and 14 days in culture, supernatants were collected for cytokine analysis and RNA was isolated from cells for gene expression analysis. Pellets were also collected for biochemical analysis. RESULTS Transduction of chondrocytes led to significant increases in IL-10 expression. IL-10 expression was further enhanced by IL-1β stimulation. IL-10 overexpression led to significantly decreased expression of IL-1β and ADAMTS4. PGE2 synthesis was also significantly decreased. IL-1β mediated suppression of GAG synthesis was not rescued by IL-10. CONCLUSIONS Overexpression of IL-10 modulates the inflammatory response in chondrocytes, which may mitigate some of the deleterious effects of pro-inflammatory cascades in the posttraumatic joint. AAV5-IL-10 led to efficient and sustained overexpression of IL-10 in chondrocytes and could represent a viable treatment option for preventing osteoarthritis.
Retribution and Revenge

It is almost universally accepted among retributivists that revenge and retributive punishment are fundamentally different, the first being immoral but the second moral. Robert Nozick’s influential argument presents numerous features on which they purportedly differ, including the idea that revenge is personal while retribution is impersonal, and that revenge aims at the suffering of the wrongdoer while retribution aims only at justice. However influential this argument, it can easily be seen to be flawed. Revenge and retribution are identical in their essential features: both involve the intention to inflict harm on a person in response to his prior wrongdoing. There is an important distinction between the two: revenge is a privately-administered system of punishment, whereas retribution involves a state-administered public system. This distinction is important, though it implies the essential continuity of the two practices, rather than their difference. Thus it will not do to insist that retribution is justified because it is different from revenge; we need an account that allows for the essential continuity of revenge and retribution.
Literary Theory and Moral Vision in Tamil Buddhist Literature

Au-dela des hypotheses de didactisme et de corruption linguistique, l'A. defend la these selon laquelle les deux textes de la litterature tamoule, le «Manimekalai» et le «Viracoliyam», ne sont pas seulement des traductions, mais bien des oeuvres bouddhistes ecrites en langue tamoule. Defendant l'idee d'une culture multilinguistique dans le sud de l'Inde, l'A. propose un nouveau modele d'interpretation des deux textes fonde sur une analyse morale du recit central de l'histoire de Kayacantikai et Kancanan.
Investigation on Intermediate Point Temperature Adjustment in Once-Through Boiler Based on Enthalpy Distribution

The developed power plants take advantage of variable pressure operation in wide range of working condition, during which liquid physical property is influenced by pressure change to a great extent. It can result in complex heat transfer condition, even over-temperature in heated tubes. Based on enthalpy distribution, present paper studies the different degrees (1°C-15°C) of superheat in steam-water separator in four working conditions (30%, 50%, 75%, 100%). Meanwhile, the impact of pressure deviation (-10bar-10bar) on the enthalpy distribution is in scope in present paper.
Deviating from IDSA treatment guidelines for non-purulent skin infections increases the risk of treatment failure in emergency department patients

The Infectious Disease Society of America (IDSA) publishes guidelines regularly for the management of skin and soft tissue infections; however, the extent to which practice patterns follow these guidelines and if this can affect treatment failure rates is unknown. We observed the treatment failure rates from a multicentre retrospective ambulatory cohort of adult emergency department patients treated for a non-purulent skin infection. We used multivariable logistic regression to examine the role of IDSA classification and whether adherence to IDSA guidelines reduced treatment failure. A total of 759 ambulatory patients were included in the cohort with 17.4% failing treatment. Among all patients, 56.0% had received treatments matched to the IDSA guidelines with 29.1% over-treated, and 14.9% under-treated based on the guidelines. After adjustment for age, gender, infection location and medical comorbidities, patients with a moderate infection type had three times increased risk of treatment failure (adjusted risk ratio (aRR) 2.98; 95% confidence interval (CI) 1.15-7.74) and two times increased risk with a severe infection type (aRR 2.27; 95% CI 1.25-4.13) compared with mild infection types. Patients who were under-treated based on IDSA guidelines were over two times more likely to fail treatment (aRR 2.65; 95% CI 1.16-6.05) while over-treatment was not associated with treatment failure. Patients ⩾70 years of age had a 56% increased risk of treatment failure (aRR 1.56; 95% CI 1.04-2.33) compared with those <70 years. Following the IDSA guidelines for non-purulent SSTIs may reduce the treatment failure rates; however, older adults still carry an increased risk of treatment failure.
Deep-Sub-Wavelength Magnetoquasistatic Indoor Navigation Sensor–2D Measurements

Recent progress in magneto quasi static (MQS) field-based techniques have enabled effective sensor techniques for accurate position sensing in indoor environments. Key to the technique is the ability to measure and invert MQS field couplings from an external active device to an internal active device. Due to use of low-frequency MQS couplings, the technique enables accurate field inversions within a few skin-depths into an indoor environment. We demonstrate 2D position tracking for a mobile MQS receiver device in a large indoor house environment with through-the-wall coupling, and analyze the error in data collected.
Influence of daily fresh pear consumption on biomarkers of cardiometabolic health in middle-aged/older adults with metabolic syndrome: a randomized controlled trial

Previous research suggests potential for fresh pears as a functional food for promoting cardiometabolic health. The purpose of this randomized, open-label, placebo-controlled, crossover clinical trial was to evaluate the influence of daily fresh pear consumption on blood pressure (primary outcome) and other biomarkers of cardiometabolic health in middle-aged/older adults with metabolic syndrome (MetS). Forty men and women aged 45-65 years with MetS were included and randomly assigned to receive either two medium-sized fresh pears (Pear) or a calorie-matched control drink (Control) per day for each 12-week treatment period, each separated by a 4-week washout period. After 12 weeks of daily fresh pear consumption, systolic blood pressure tended to be reduced (130 ± 2 mmHg vs. 134 ± 2 mmHg at baseline, P = 0.07) and pulse pressure was significantly reduced (51 ± 1 vs. 54 ± 1 at baseline, P < 0.05). At 12 weeks, leptin concentrations were lower in the Pear group than Control (52.5 [7.6, 120.5] ng dL-1vs. 53.4 [5.0, 120.5] ng dL-1, respectively, P < 0.05), and there was a significant group by time interaction (P < 0.05). Leptin concentrations were significantly reduced at 12 weeks compared to baseline in the Pear group (52.5 [7.6, 120.5] ng dL-1vs. 54.8 [6.4, 120.5] ng dL-1 at baseline, P < 0.05) but not in the Control group. Waist circumference was significantly reduced at 12 weeks in the Pear group (107.7 ± 2.0 cm vs. 108.4 ± 2 cm at baseline, P < 0.05) with a trend for a group by time interaction (P < 0.1), and significantly lower in the Pear group than Control (108.1 ± 2.0 cm vs. 108.8 ± 2 cm, P < 0.05) at 6 weeks with a significant group by time interaction (P < 0.05). Conversely, values were significantly increased at 6 weeks (108.8 ± 2 cm vs. 108.3 ± 2.0 cm at baseline, P < 0.05) in the Control group and sustained at 12 weeks. Waist-to-hip ratio was significantly reduced (0.92 ± 0.01 vs. 0.93 ± 0.01 at baseline, P < 0.05) at 12 weeks in the Pear group, and significantly lower than Control at 6 weeks (0.93 ± 0.01 vs. 0.93 ± 0.01, respectively, P < 0.05) and 12 weeks (0.92 ± 0.01 vs. 0.93 ± 0.01, P < 0.05). These findings suggest that daily fresh pear consumption may promote modest improvements in cardiometabolic health in middle-aged/older adults with MetS. This trial was registered at clinicaltrials.gov as NCT02228837.
Basic Science and Future Clinical Perspective

Basic science and pharmacology have had a great impact on surgical practice in the preceding decades
Automation and Predictive Analytics in Patent Prosecution: USPTO Implications and Policy

Artificial-intelligence technological advancements bring automation and predictive analytics into patent prosecution. The information asymmetry between inventors and patent examiners is expanded by artificial intelligence, which transforms the inventor–examiner interaction to machine–human interactions. In response to automated patent drafting, automated office-action responses, “cloems” (computer-generated word permutations) for defensive patenting, and machine-learning guidance (based on constantly updated patent-prosecution big data), the United States Patent and Trademark Office (USPTO) should reevaluate patent-examination policy from economic, fairness, time, and transparency perspectives. By conceptualizing the inventor–examiner relationship as a “patenting market,” economic principles suggest stronger efficiencies if both inventors and the USPTO have better information in an artificial-intelligence-driven market. Based on economics of information and institutional-design perspectives, the USPTO should develop a counteracting artificial-intelligence unit in response to artificial-intelligence proliferation.
Introduction and Objectives

“The modern jet transport can be described as the largest integration of technology into a self sufficient unit. All it needs to fly is a full fuel tank, a small crew, and a long runway. Its economic success depends on performance , low maintenance costs and high passenger appeal.”
The effect of social cohesion and social networks on perceptions of food availability among low-income consumers

Abstract How do social factors (social cohesion, social networks) affect low-income consumers and their perceptions of food availability? Across three studies, this research finds that social factors play an important role in determining the perceptions that these consumers have about their food situation. When reminded about their social networks, low-income consumers report higher levels of food availability. However, this effect holds only if social cohesion is high, indicating that social cohesion acts as a moderator. Another moderator of perceived food availability is the distance at which the social networks are located. When social networks are near (same city), strong and weak social relationships help increase perceptions of food availability. However, when the geographic distance increases (different city), only strong social relationships help. This research finds that self-confidence explains the reason why social factors affect perceived food availability.
Parental Rights and Accountability in Public Education: Special Education and Choice of School

Recent examinations of public education have found a disturbing decline in academic standards and student achievement. Many students are graduating without adequate knowledge and skills to participate fully in our culture and economy, and critics fear that the decline in education has jeopardized our national stature."1 These criticisms have generated calls for increased funding of schools and strengthened supervision and accountability of school districts, schools, and teachers. Such calls for accountability have commonly focused on strengthening hierarchical control in public education mandating core curricula for all schools and evaluating and funding schools on the basis of students' achievements and performance on standardized examinations.2
Encouraging Faculty Adoption of Virtual Reality Tools in Engineering Education

Virtual reality is one of the widely emerging technologies and is anticipated to play a substantial role in the future of education. Though many research studies have been conducted on its application in various disciplines, less investigations focused on its integration in engineering higher education. This work, thus, aims to identify the major opportunities and challenges of virtual reality adoption in various areas of engineering. To do so, solicited engineering faculty participants from four different departments at the University of Idaho attended demos to examine a virtual reality technology – namely Leap Motion desktop controller. They were then asked to respond to a survey that collected their feedback on virtual reality possible applications, educational uses, and challenges in their respective disciplines. The survey also collected responses related to their perception, acceptance, and recommendations on ways to encourage virtual reality implementation. Results show a majority of participants being in favor of adopting virtual reality, suggesting areas and classes/labs that would best benefit from such technology. This paper also proposes professional development activities and suggestions for virtual reality applications’ developers. DOI:10.2458/azu_itet_v7i2_el-mallah
Simultaneous rainbow schlieren deflectometry and OH* chemiluminescence imaging of a diesel spray flame in constant pressure flow rig

Abstract The physical and chemical phenomena that take place during fuel injection, entrainment and fuel-air mixing, cool-flame and ignition reaction, and combustion in diesel sprays still require extensive study. Global parameters such as liquid and vapor jet penetration lengths and spreading rates render useful yet still limited information. Understanding of the temporal evolution of the spray as it progresses through various steps is needed to develop advanced clean combustion modes and high-fidelity predictive models with sufficient accuracy. In this study, high-speed rainbow schlieren deflectometry (RSD) and OH* chemiluminescence are used to simultaneously image fuel-air mixing, cool-flame reactions, ignition, flame propagation and stabilization, and combustion in a transient diesel-like flame. A constant pressure flow rig (CPFR) is used to conduct multiple injections in quick succession to obtain a statistically relevant dataset. n-heptane was injected at nominal supply pressure of 1000 bar from a single-hole diesel injector into ambient at pressure of 30 bar and temperature of 800 K. About 500 injections were performed and analyzed to reveal structural features of non-reacting and reacting regions of the spray, quantify jet penetration and spreading rates, and study cool-flame behavior, ignition, flame propagation and stabilization at lift-off length, and combustion at upstream and downstream locations.
Preface to the Proceedings for the 2nd International Conference on Energy Geotechnics (ICEGT2020)

Author(s): McCartney, John S; Tomac, Ingrid | Abstract: With ever increasing energy demand and related climate change implications, the development of sustainable energy systems based on integrated schemes of energy production, transport, transfer, and storage is an important challenge to society. The broad and emerging area of Energy Geotechnics has the potential to address this challenge from multiple perspectives by integrating concepts from geotechnical engineering and geomechanics with cross-disciplinary concepts from geology, hydrology, geophysics, geochemistry, petroleum engineering, and energy policy. The 2nd International Conference on Energy Geotechnics is organized by the members of the International Society of Soil Mechanics and Geotechnical Engineering (ISSMGE) Technical Committee 308 on Energy Geotechnics, and is the main international venue for interaction, communication, and technology transfer for academic and non-academic parties, including researchers and practitioners, in the broad areas within Energy Geotechnics