cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Comparison of Two Re-Freezing Methods on Previously Thawed Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cells.

Background: Peripheral Blood Progenitor Cells (PBPC) cryopreserved in DMSO are thawed at the patient’s bedside and infused immediately. Usually the infusions are completed without incident. There are occasions when mild/severe transfusion related reactions occur. When this does occur, the infusion is either slowed or paused for a short period of time. When reactions are severe enough to warrant stoppage of the infusion, transplant facilities maybe faced with discarding any remaining thawed cells. We have explored the question of salvaging the remaining cells by re-cryopreservation using two cryopreservation methods. Study Design: Twenty PBPC were thawed in a 37C water bath until the internal temperature of the cells was approx 2-6C. The PBPC were not washed and allowed to remain at room temperature for 15 minutes. Ten PBPC were then placed on ice for 45 minutes. This simulated the transfer of cells to an off-site cryopreservation lab. These cells were then transferred to a new cryo bag, no change in the cryoprotectant solutions, and placed into a rate controlled freezer (RCF) bringing their temperature back to Results: The median viability of all PBPC after the first thaw was 69.5% (n=20; range= 35–83%). The median post thaw viability of the PBPC frozen by the RCF was 55.5% (n=10; range= 18–73%). Whereas, the median post thaw viability of the PBPC frozen in the −80C freezer was 25% (n=10; range 8–37%). Additionally, the median percent of viable cell loss from the initial pre-freeze data to the second thaw data for the RCF PBPC was 66.1% (n=10; range= 0 – 94.6%) and for the −80C PBPC was 94.1% (n=10; range= 91.3–97.8%. CFU growth was present for the RCF PBPC. No growth was demonstrated for the −80C PBPC. Conclusion: Though neither method provided outstanding results, if faced with the dilemma of losing cells or attempting to save by re-cryopreservation, a transplant facility should consider RCF over −80C freezing.
Human Rights in State Courts

Human rights are among society’s most powerful ideals. The notion that all people have rights, simply by virtue of their humanity, has sparked new nations, inspired countless freedom movements, and transformed the relationship between people and their governments in places big and small around the globe. The founders of our country declared that we are all created equal and endowed with certain inalienable rights, and that opinions of other nations are entitled to “decent respect.” In the aftermath of the Holocaust and World War II, the United States helped craft the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) and the modern international human rights system. Throughout our history, the concept of human rights has been central to our nation’s struggles to achieve equality and justice for all. Now, more than ever, domestic protection of human rights norms will be crucial as the social justice community braces itself for uncertainty following threats to widely accepted human rights norms. Courts continue to be a venue for human rights advocacy and for securing and protecting fundamental rights, equal justice, and human dignity. State courts are of particular importance because they often consider economic, social, and cultural rights, and in interpreting state law they have the independence to recognize a broader range of rights than federal courts. In addition, state courts may be called on to interpret and apply international treaties, including human rights treaties. Recognizing this important aspect of the implementation of human rights law in the United States, this report updates our 2014 report, which details the ways in which state courts have considered and interpreted human rights. This report is intended for public interest lawyers, state court litigators, and judges, and also for state and municipal policymakers interested in integrating compliance with international human rights law into their domestic policies. Litigants have continued to make arguments based on international human rights in state courts since the last version of this report was published in 2014. As we noted in the 2014 report, many of these arguments have been cursorily dismissed, with a few courts and individual judges staking out their opposition to the application of international human rights law. However, some state courts have considered and affirmatively used international human rights law as persuasive authority for the interpretation of state constitutions, statutes, and common law. Further, individual judges regularly draw on human rights norms in concurring or dissenting opinions. This updated publication is a supplement to the 2014 report and focuses on cases that have been decided since that report was decided.
A Pain to Practice: Attitudes of Medical Family Therapists Working With Patients With Opioid Use Disorder

ABSTRACTThe prevalence of patients with opioid misuse in medical settings continues to rise, and it is unknown how much exposure medical family therapists (MedFTs) have in treating this issue. This study explored the attitudes of MedFTs (n = 58) when working with patients struggling with opioid use disorder in clinical practice. Results revealed that 43% of MedFTs had a low comfort level in working with this population and preferred to make referrals to primary care providers. Given that opioid use disorder cases are rising in healthcare settings, emerging mental health professionals would benefit from additional training to effectively treat this population.
What’s so Baffling About Negative Numbers? — a Cross-Cultural Comparison

I was flabbergasted when I first read Augustus De Morgan’s writings about negative numbers1. For example, in the Penny Cyclopedia of 1843, to which he contributed many articles, he wrote in the article Negative and Impossible Quantities: It is not our intention to follow the earlier algebraists through their different uses of negative numbers. These creations of algebra retained their existence, in the face of the obvious deficiency of rational explanation which characterized every attempt at their theory. In fact, he spent much of his life, first showing how equations with these meaningless negative numbers could be reworked so as to assert honest facts involving only positive numbers and, later, working slowly towards a definition of abstract rings and fields, the ideas which he felt were the only way to build a fully satisfactory theory of negative numbers.
Origins of Calculation Abilities

The ability to calculate represents a complex cognitive process including verbal, spatial, somatic, memory, and executive functions. The origin of mathematical concepts can be traced to subhuman species. The immediate recognition of certain small quantities without counting – subitizing – is found not only in animals but also in small children. During child development, different stages in the acquisition of numerical knowledge are observed, including global quantification, recognition of small quantities, enumeration, correspondence construction, counting, and finally permutability (arithmetic). Some numerical abilities, such as correspondence construction, probably existed in prehistoric man. In human history, as well as in child development, counting begins with sequencing the fingers; this may be the reason for the frequent use of a decimal system. Written numbers appeared in history before written language. Neuroimaging techniques have demonstrated that different brain areas are active during arithmetical tasks, but the specific pattern of brain activity depends on the particular type of task that is performed. It can be assumed that during human history, the development of new numerical abilities was correlated with the involvement of new brain areas during the performance of progressively more complex numerical tasks. Mediators used in numerical cognition continue evolving with the introduction of new contemporary technologies.
A stress criterion for crack growth

A stress criterion for crack growth was developed from test results with 7075-T6 aluminum-sheet specimens containing transverse machined cracks. Stress distributions near the crack tip were obtained using strain gages and by reducing the strain data to stresses with the aid of Reuss plasticity theory. These distributions indicated the biaxial nature of stress at the crack tip, the high stress gradients a short distance from the tip, and the variation in stress-concentration factor with crack length. Crack growth was found to occur when the effective stress at the crack root reached the engineering ultimate strength.
Who are the cancer patients most likely to utilize lay navigation services and what types of issues do they ask for help

229Background: In 2017, the Stanford Cancer Institute implemented a lay patient navigation program directed towards patients receiving at least two treatment modalities with the thought that these patients likely need more support than those with single treatment modality. We would like to target future services, prospectively, to patients that need them most. The aim of this paper is to understand the characteristics and concerns of the highest users of the lay navigation services. Methods: Patients were included if they had been assigned a care navigator between February 2017 through November 2017 and had at least four months of potential follow-up with their navigator. High contact patients were defined as those with the total number of contacts in the top 10% and/or the duration of contact in the top 25%. Demographic and clinical characteristics of patients were obtained from the electronic medical record. Data that captured patient-navigator interactions were abstracted from a templated note in the e...
Staging laparoscopy among three subtypes of extra-hepatic biliary malignancy: a 15-year experience from 10 institutions.

BACKGROUND Staging laparoscopy (SL) is used to avoid resection failure and thus increase the curative resection rate. SL utilization in extra-hepatic biliary tumors (EHBT) is variable. METHODS Data from 1090 patients with potentially resectable EHBT including gallbladder (GBC), distal (DC), and hilar (HC) subtypes were retrospectively collected from 10 academic centers (2000-2015). RESULTS The SL utilization rate increased over time and was significantly higher in GBC than DC and HC. SL yield was 16.8% and did not differ between groups or over time. In patients undergoing attempted resection with prior SL, the curative resection rate did not differ between subtypes. In patients undergoing attempted resection without prior SL, the curative resection rate was less in GBC compared with DC or HC. After matching cohorts by inverse probability weighting, prior SL was associated with curative resection in GBC only (odds ratio [OR], 2.41, 95% CI, 1.36-4.27). On multivariable regression analysis, elevated carbohydrate antigen 19-9 (CA 19-9), low serum albumin, and GBC were strong predictors of distant disease on SL. After categorizing patients undergoing SL into low, intermediate, and high-risk groups based on these parameters, SL yield improved progressively from 10.0% to 19.6% to 52.6%. CONCLUSIONS We recommend routine SL for patients with GBC, particularly with elevated CA19-9 level and/or decreased serum albumin.
Load Balancing for Interdependent IoT Microservices

Advances in virtualization technologies and edge computing have inspired a new paradigm for Internet-of-Things (IoT) application development. By breaking a monolithic application into loosely coupled microservices, great gain can be achieved in performance, flexibility and robustness. In this paper, we study the important problem of load balancing across IoT microservice instances. A key difficulty in this problem is the interdependencies among microservices: the load on a successor microservice instance directly depends on the load distributed from its predecessor microservice instances. We propose a graph-based model for describing the load dependencies among microservices. Based on the model, we first propose a basic formulation for load balancing, which can be solved optimally in polynomial time. The basic model neglects the quality-of-service (QoS) of the IoT application. We then propose a QoS-aware load balancing model, based on a novel abstraction that captures a realization of the application’s internal logic. The QoS-aware load balancing problem is NP-hard. We propose a fully polynomial-time approximation scheme for the QoS-aware problem. We show through simulation experiments that our proposed algorithm achieves enhanced QoS compared to heuristic solutions.
Single shot, single sample, single instrument detection of IGSR and OGSR using LC/MS/MS.

Abstract Firearm discharge residue (FDR) contains organic and inorganic constituents that arise from the propellant; primer; and, to a lesser extent, the barrel, bullet, and casing. When a weapon is fired, residues are deposited on nearby surfaces with the hand being of primary forensic interest. Current methodology focuses on inorganic primer residues (IGSR) characterized using SEM/EDX. Advances in mass spectrometry have facilitated the detection of organic residues (OGSR) using variations of LC/MS and related ambient ionization methods. In the last few years, single sample collection has been used to characterize IGSR and OGSR via sample splitting and separate analysis by SEM and LC/MS. This paper presents an innovative approach in which IGSR and OGSR are collected on a single SEM stub sample, extracted in a two-step sequential process, and then characterized with a single instrument, LC coupled with triple quadrupole mass spectrometry. The key innovation is exploitation of host-guest and ligand chemistry to detect inorganic constituents. The precursor ion is the metal-ligand complex and the product ion is the metal cation. Identification is confirmed via isotopic ratios. A controlled shooting study using 1–3 shots from a 9 mm and 0.38 revolver resulted in consistent detection of lead and EC down to a single shot discharge. Barium, calcium, and iron were also detected. The detection of antimony requires of use of tartaric acid, a multi-dentate ligand.
Presentation and Mortality of Cryptococcal Infection Varies by Predisposing Illness: A Retrospective Cohort Study

Abstract Background Cryptococcal epidemiology is changing in the modern antiretroviral era, and immune status informs outcomes. We describe the differences in clinical presentation and mortality of cryptococcosis by immune status in the antiretroviral therapy era. Methods We conducted a single-center retrospective cohort study of patients diagnosed with cryptococcosis from 2002 through 2017. Data included demographics, clinical features, diagnostics, and mortality. Results We identified 304 patients with Cryptococcus neoformans infections: 105 (35%) were people living with human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), 41 (13%) had a history of transplantation, and 158 (52%) were non-HIV nontransplant (NHNT). Age analysis showed that people living with HIV were younger (40 years) than transplant (53 years) and NHNT (61 years) (P Conclusions The majority of cryptococcosis occurs in NHNT patients. NHNT patients had more localized pulmonary cryptococcosis and significantly higher 90-day mortality. Cryptococcosis in NHNT patients appears to be a distinct entity that needs further study and requires a higher level of clinical suspicion than it currently receives.
Electrically-Launched mm-sized Hypervelocity Projectiles

Abstract An electrothermal research gun capable of firing small cylindrical projectiles up to 4 km/s has been developed. While electromagnetic forces certainly exist in the system, it is not an electromagnetic launch system, but rather utilizes an electrical arc to produce a rapidly expanding gas that is used as the working fluid. A pointed copper anode is insulated such that the arc initiates only at the very tip, while the electrical circuit is completed through both the projectile and the barrel. Experiments show that copper vapor from the eroding copper electrode is the most likely working fluid of the gun, however, a portion of the aluminum projectile is also eroded. The design was directly aided by simulations performed using the multiphysics hydrocode ALEGRA developed by Sandia National Laboratories. Simulations included investigating the anode tip shape as well as limiting the expansion of the chamber due to the rapid expansion of gasses caused by the arc. Comparisons of projectile velocity profiles from Photon Doppler Velocimetry, barrel expansion, and pellet erosion with the ALEGRA results were utilized as benchmarks, leading to significant velocity gains for given energy inputs.
Lacuna and Enigma: Verdi’s Giovanna d’Arco in Light of Schiller’s Play

This chapter begins by considering the lacuna that exists in the list of operas based on works by Schiller: those written in German. Schiller was the source of Rossini’s William Tell, Donizetti’s Maria Stuarda, and no less than four of Verdi’s operas. Pendergast asserts that opera libretti based on Schiller’s plays expose moments of tension between the passing of the baroque and classical operatic traditions and the emergence of the romantic. German opera was little represented in the former and, until the appearance of Wagner, had difficulty gaining a foothold in the latter. Although Verdi attains enduring success with the operas Luisa Miller and Don Carlo, his Giovanna d’Arco fails to hold the stage. Pendergast argues that the disparity in style between Solera’s libretto and the opera’s place as a transition point in the development of Verdi’s mature operatic aesthetic may explain this enigma.
Christianity and Bankruptcy

Although the term “bankruptcy” is nowhere to be found in the Bible, debt and the consequences of default are a major theme both in the Hebrew Bible and in the New Testament. In Israel, as in the ancient Near East generally, a debtor who defaulted on his obligations was often sold into slavery or servitude. Biblical law moderated the harshness of this system by prohibiting Israelites from charging interest on loans to one another, thus diminishing the risk of default, and by requiring the release of slaves after seven years of service. Jesus alluded to the lending laws at least once, and he frequently used economic illustrations in his teaching, linking forgiveness of sins to debt relief in the Lord’s Prayer and in one of his parables. In this essay, I very briefly describe the evolution of bankruptcy, focusing most extensively on a proposal by the early novelist Daniel DeFoe to reform English insolvency law. I then turn to the essay’s principal focus: the implications of Biblical teaching on debt and debt relief for modern bankruptcy law, especially American bankruptcy law. The past century has seen a significant expansion of personal bankruptcy law, the emergence of corporate bankruptcy, and most recently a debate over whether over-indebted countries should have access to bankruptcy relief. I consider whether each of these developments can be seen as reflecting Christian principles, and what a more fully Christian vision of bankruptcy law might look like.
Claudio Monteverdi and l’Orfeo, favola in musica: character construction and depiction of emotion

The construction of character on the early operatic stage by means of musical gestures is an arresting achievement of Italian master Claudio Monteverdi (1567-1643), a practice first evident in his signature opera L’Orfeo, Favola in Musica . In Monteverdi’s depiction of character, notably that of Orfeo and Apollo, his decisions to express emotion through voice type and musical/rhetorical devices appear at the surface to be connected primarily to contemporary aesthetic concepts and singing style conventions, representing the ideas of morality/character ( ethos ), reason ( logos ), and emotion ( pathos ) in much subtler ways than in his late opera L’incoronazione di Poppea . Monteverdi’s operatic style in Orfeo is indebted to several factors, namely cultural, personal, and social conditions ( e.g. , his exposure to musical activities in other Italian city-states, his involvement with cultural academies, and the constraints resulting from his Mantuan patronage). Lacking the freedom to write for the public theater as in his later operas, Orfeo can be seen as a result of three determining factors: cultural environment and the patronage system; aesthetics of singing/performance practice; and the influence of cultural academies, in particular the Accademia degli Invaghiti . By re-examining primary sources and re-evaluating several contemporary scholarly studies, this paper aims to further an understanding of Monteverdi’s aesthetic position as it affected his construction of operatic characters and their musical depiction, informed by the three factors above. Such an impact will be discerned using Orfeo’s Possente spirto and the duet between Apollo and Orfeo Saliam, cantando al Cielo (without excluding other excerpts of great importance in this opera) in which similar musical settings represent different dramatic situations.
PaediatricAcute abdominal emergencies in childhood

Abdominal pain is a ubiquitous experience during childhood and a common presenting complaint to secondary health care facilities. Amongst the large caseload are a number of serious and / or life-threatening conditions. In this article an approach to history and examination, initial management, diagnostic categories, modes of investigation, and treatment are discussed. Common and serious causes of abdominal pain in children are discussed. The clinical skills required to differentiate between them should not be underestimated.
Developing an Interfacility Transfer Handoff Intervention: Applying the Person-Based Approach Method.

OBJECTIVE: To develop an interfacility transfer handoff intervention by applying the person-based approach method. METHODS: We conducted a qualitative study that used nominal group technique (NGT) and focus groups to apply the person-based approach for intervention development. NGT methods were used to determine prioritized pediatric transfer handoff elements to design the initial intervention prototype. Five focus group sessions were then held to solicit feedback on the intervention, perceptions on implementing the intervention, and outcomes for evaluating the intervention. Data were analyzed by using content analysis. Iterative improvements were made to the intervention prototype as data emerged. RESULTS: Forty-two clinical providers in total participated in NGT and focus group sessions, including physicians, advanced practitioners, nurses, and a respiratory therapist. The initial intervention prototype was a handoff mnemonic tool, “SHARING” (short introduction, how the patient appeared, action taken, responses and results, interpretation, next steps, gather documents). Perceived benefits of the intervention included clarifying handoff expectations, reducing handoff deficits, supporting less experienced clinical providers, and setting the stage for ongoing effective communication. Outcomes perceived to be meaningful were related to triage appropriateness, workflow and use, and communication and information sharing. The final version of the intervention consisted of a SHARING reference card and a SHARING electronic medical record note template. CONCLUSIONS: Using qualitative methods to apply the person-based approach to intervention development, we developed a transfer handoff intervention. Future research is needed to examine impacts of this tool; outcomes can include those identified as meaningful by participants in our present study.
Estimating the daily nutritive value of bermudagrass for grazing livestock

ABSTRACT Objective Our objective was to develop models to estimate the CP, NDF, lignin, and ash concentrations of bermudagrass [Cynodondactylon (L.) Pers.] forage daily throughout the grazing season and use them to estimate TDN daily. We hypothesized that the CP, NDF, lignin, ash, and TDN concentrations might change daily. Materials and Methods Coastal bermudagrass forage CP, NDF, lignin, and ash concentrations spanning several years were obtained from Overton, Texas. The forage samples used comprised hand-plucked plant parts intended to estimate animal-selected diets. We developed an empirical model for each nutritive variable with the day of the year (DOY) as a predictor. By incorporating these models into a pre-existing summative equation, we estimated the daily values of TDN. These nutritive value models were evaluated using the Willmott index, modeling efficiency, root mean squared error, and R2 as the measures of fit. Results and Discussion Bermudagrass CP concentration had a negative, curvilinear association with DOY, whereas lignin and NDF concentrations were positively, curvilinearly related to DOY. The ash concentration had a negative, linear association with DOY. The likely causal factors for these relationships were plant maturity and weather conditions, especially temperature. The Willmott index, modeling efficiency, and R2 values were greater than 0.87, 0.64, and 0.65, respectively. The root mean squared error and percent error values were less than 3.1 and 11%, respectively. These values indicated that the nutritive value models were reliable. Implications and Applications We showed that the CP, NDF, lignin, ash, and TDN values of bermudagrass forage changed daily. By incorporating these trends into a nutritive value prediction system, accurate estimates of daily TDN could be made. These nutritive value models could be a valuable asset in forage-animal modeling for more accurately studying the effects of various management strategies and environmental factors on forage nutritive value and animal performance.
The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on asthma and pediatric emergency health-seeking behavior in the Bronx, an epicenter.

Abstract Background The Bronx has the highest prevalence of asthma in the United States (US), and was also an early COVID-19 epicenter, making it a unique study location. Worldwide reports describe significant declines in pediatric emergency department (PED) visits during COVID-19. The ongoing impact of COVID-19 on all PED presentations, including asthma, at an early epicenter has not been studied beyond the pandemic peak and into the early phases of state re-opening. Objectives To compare PED health-seeking behaviors and clinical characteristics during the 2020 pandemic and subsequent initial New York State (NYS) phased re-opening to the same period in 2019. Methods Retrospective chart review of children Results 19,981 visits were included. Visits declined by 66% during 2020. Proportions of asthma visits (2% vs. 7%, p Conclusion The pandemic cohort experienced a substantial decrease in PED volume, but an increase in acuity and admission rates, which was sustained through the NYS phase-II re-opening. Despite being located in an asthma hub, the incidence of asthma-related PED visits declined appreciably in the pandemic cohort. Future studies examining the effects of indoor allergens in isolation on pediatric asthma are warranted.
Psychological Distress, Alcohol Misuse and Stigma to Seek Psychological Help in a Community Sample of Sexual Diverse Women of Color

Sexual diverse women of color (SDWOC) face significant heightened experiences of discrimination across multiple axes of identity. We sampled 182 SDWOC of Latinx and African American descent to exam...
Suboptimal human inference inverts the bias-variance trade-off for decisions with asymmetric evidence

Solutions to challenging inference problems are often subject to a fundamental trade-off between bias (being systematically wrong) that is minimized with complex inference strategies and variance (being oversensitive to uncertain observations) that is minimized with simple inference strategies. However, this trade-off is based on the assumption that the strategies being considered are optimal for their given complexity and thus has unclear relevance to the frequently suboptimal inference strategies used by humans. We examined inference problems involving rare, asymmetrically available evidence, which a large population of human subjects solved using a diverse set of strategies that were suboptimal relative to the Bayesian ideal observer. These suboptimal strategies reflected an inversion of the classic bias-variance trade-off: subjects who used more complex, but imperfect, Bayesian-like strategies tended to have lower variance but high bias because of incorrect tuning to latent task features, whereas subjects who used simpler heuristic strategies tended to have higher variance because they operated more directly on the observed samples but displayed weaker, near-normative bias. Our results yield new insights into the principles that govern individual differences in behavior that depends on rare-event inference, and, more generally, about the information-processing trade-offs that are sensitive to not just the complexity, but also the optimality of the inference process.
U.S. Food and Drug Administration Reasoning in Approval Decisions When Efficacy Evidence Is Borderline, 2013-2018.

Background The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has substantial flexibility in its approval criteria in the context of life-threatening disease and unmet therapeutic need. Objective To understand the FDA's evidentiary standards when flexible criteria are employed. Design Case series. Setting Applications submitted between 2013 and 2018 that went through multiple review cycles because the evidence for clinical efficacy was initially deemed insufficient. Measurements Information was obtained from the approval package (available on Drugs@FDA), including advisory committee minutes, FDA reviews, and complete response letters. Results Of 912 applications reviewed, 117 went through multiple review cycles; only 22 of these faced additional review primarily because of issues related to clinical efficacy. Concerns about the end point, the clinical meaningfulness of the observed effect, and inconsistent results were common bases for initial rejection. In 7 of the 22 cases, the approval did not require new evidence but rather new interpretations of the original evidence. No FDA decisions cited reasoning used in previous decisions. Limitation The conclusions rely on the authors' interpretation of the FDA statements and on a series of "close calls." Conclusion The FDA has no mechanism to find or tradition to cite similar cases when weighing evidence for approvals, resulting in standalone, bespoke decisions. These decisions show highly variable criteria for "substantial evidence" when flexible evidential criteria are used, highlighted by the recent approval of aducanumab. A precedential tradition and suitable information system are required for the FDA to improve institutional memory and build upon past decisions. These would increase the FDA's decisional transparency, consistency, and predictability, which are critical to preserving the FDA's most valuable asset, the public's trust. Primary funding source U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
Measurements of the surface tension of nanofluids and development of a new correlation

Abstract Surface tension measurements were performed on four nanofluids containing aluminum oxide (Al 2 O 3 ), zinc oxide (ZnO), titanium dioxide (TiO 2 ) and silicon dioxide (SiO 2 ) nanoparticles suspended in a base fluid of 60% propylene glycol and 40% water by mass (60:40 PG/W). First, benchmark tests for the surface tension of water were performed, for which accurate data are available in the published literature. Measured data agreed well with the published data confirming the accuracy of the apparatus, as well as the experimental procedure. Following the benchmark tests, measurements were performed on nanofluids over a temperature range of 30 °C to 70 °C for particle volumetric concentrations ranging from 0 to 6 % and particle sizes in the range of 15–50 nm. From the experimental data, it was observed that the surface tension of nanofluids decreased with an increase in temperature. At a constant temperature, an increase in the particle volumetric concentration of a nanofluid caused a decrease in the surface tension. For nanofluids at fixed volumetric concentration and temperature, the surface tension was found to be lower for smaller particle sizes except the ZnO nanofluid. A statistical analysis performed on the experimental data yielded a single correlation valid for all the nanofluids tested. This surface tension correlation is a function of temperature, volumetric concentration and the size of the nanoparticles, which predicts results successfully with an average deviation of 2.6% from the measured values.
CK2, A PROTEIN KINASE OF THE NEXT MILLENNIUM

Protein kinase CK2 is a ubiquitous eukaryotic protein kinase composed of two catalytic subunits, α and/or α′, and two regulatory subunits, β. In order to define similarities and dissimilarities between the α and α ′ catalytic subunits, which might account for their particular cellular functions, different forms of the enzyme were expressed in Sf9 cells and their properties determined. Both catalytic subunits were expressed separately, and also along with the regulatory β subunit, in order to obtain free α and α′, as well as α2β2 and α′2β2 forms. Our results confirm that the b subunit acts to stabilize the α and α′ subunits and also influences the substrate specificity and kinetic properties of the enzyme. Although significant differences between the specificities of holoenzymes α2β2 and α′2β2 as determined using a number of substrates were not detected, autophosphorylation studies on α2β2 and α′2β2 revealed significant differences in this property. The regulatory subunit β was phosphorylated less rapidly by the α′ subunit than by the α subunit, and the extent of phosphorylation of β by α was also greater than that of β by α′. It was also noted that the thermo-stability and the extent of its activation by NaCl were greater for αβ2 than for α′β2. These different properties may relate to distinct functions of the two form of CK2.
World Economy, World Society, and Environmental Harms in Less‐Developed Countries*

World economy and world society theories are engaged to assess the extent to which environmental harms in less-developed countries are tied to particular kinds of economic and social integration. Results of panel models indicate that world economy integration in the context of sector-level foreign investment contributes to a variety of environmental harms. With the exception of deforestation, world society integration in the mode of environmental international non-governmental organization presence has no direct effect. However, a stronger presence of such organizations in less-developed countries mitigates the effect of foreign investment on all tested outcomes. The authors contend that comparative sociologists should adopt theoretically integrative approaches and pay closer attention to how and under what circumstances world economy and world society factors interact to partially shape social and environmental conditions.
Adaptive tuning of RED using on-line simulation

Random early detection (RED) is an active queue management mechanism designed to provide better performance than traditional DropTail. However, its parameter setting has proved to be very sensitive to network scenarios and needs constant tuning to achieve ideal performance under varying network conditions. In view of the fact that RED has not been understood well enough for an analytical approach, this paper takes advantage of network simulation techniques and formulates the optimal configuration of RED as a black-box optimization problem. An optimization objective is designed to effectively reflect the tradeoff between utilization and queueing delay. Based on the proposed RED optimization scheme, a general automatic network management system, i.e., on-line simulation system, has been used for the on-line tuning of RED under changing network conditions. The proposed approach is empirically validated with simulations and real network experiments. The simulation results show that RED controlled with on-line simulation system is able to stabilize around the expected equilibrium status under varying conditions and maintain high utilization.
Designing a new domain knowledge base for an intelligent tutoring system, circsim-tutor version 3

CIRCSIM-Tutor is an intelligent tutoring system. It is a joint project between IIT and Rush Medical School. This software is used to teach first year medical school student the negative feedback system. CIRCSIM-Tutor is based upon teaching the student the behavior of seven important variables in the human body through conducting a natural language dialogue. This research focuses on designing a new domain knowledge base for CIRCSIM-Tutor V.3. The main focus of this project is to build the domain knowledge base using database management systems design methodology. The purpose of such design is to have a simple and easily updatable system. The domain knowledge base consists of three major components. The first component is the set of operators. These operators are called the problem-solver assistant. The main aim for these operators to provide answers to either physiology questions or to the process of solving a perturbation. The second component is the set of rules. The rules are very important part since they guide the problem-solver to successfully solve any procedure. The last component is the problem-solver. The problem-solver goes through the set of rules in order to assign each variable its correct value.
OSCILLATIONS OF HIGHER-ORDER RETARDED DIFFERENTIAL EQUATIONS GENERATED BY THE RETARDED ARGUMENT

Publisher Summary This chapter describes the oscillations of higher-order retarded differential equations (R.D.E) generated by the retarded argument. R.D.E. provides a mathematical model for physical systems in which the rate of change of the system depends upon its past history. Much of the recent literature has been devoted to the extension of known results for ordinary differential equations of R.D.E. In the case n = 2 the derivative of any nonoscillatory solution of is clearly bounded. Therefore, under the conditions, with n = 2, the derivative of any solution of the R.D.E is oscillatory. In this condition, the solutions of equation admit the decomposition S = S0US∼. In addition to the hypotheses of the theorem presented, assuming n = 2k +1 every solution of the equation is oscillatory.
The inter-database instance identification problem in integrating autonomous systems

The issue of joining information about the same instance across disparate databases in a composite information system (CIS) environment is discussed. A technique called interdatabase instance identification is presented that is a combination of database management systems and artificial intelligence techniques. Common attributes in the disparate databases are applied first to reduce the number of potential candidates for the same instance. Other attributes in these databases, auxiliary databases, and inferencing rules are utilized next to identify the same instance. A detailed example of the interdatabase instance identification technique is presented using an operational research prototype. >
PRESERVING MOBILITY IN OLDER ADULTS

Age-related loss of strength contributes to impaired mobility and increases the risk of falls. Recent research has focused on 2 approaches to preventing age-related loss of strength--promoting physical activity and exercise (especially strength training) and using trophic factors to enhance muscle performance. Epidemiologic evidence strongly supports a role of regular physical activity in successful aging by preserving muscle performance, promoting mobility, and reducing fall risk. Randomized controlled trials provide convincing evidence that strength and endurance training improve muscle performance in older adults. Evidence is rapidly accumulating from randomized trials that endurance, strength, and balance training promote mobility and reduce fall risk, though exercise effects differ according to the type of exercise, details of the exercise program, and the target group of older adults. Because lifetime regular physical activity is recommended for all older adults, a reasonable strategy (especially for weak adults) is an activity program that includes strength training. In contrast, insufficient evidence exists to recommend the long-term use of trophic factors to preserve muscular performance. An intervention that merits additional study is avoiding the use of psychoactive drugs because drugs like benzodiazepines appear to be risk factors for inactivity and may have unrecognized direct effects on muscular performance. Because chronic illness is a risk factor for inactivity and disuse muscle atrophy, randomized trials comparing strength training with other interventions would be useful in understanding whether strength training has advantages in preserving muscle performance and improving health-related quality of life in a variety of chronic illnesses such as depressive illness.
The compton gamma ray observatory: bursts, pulsars, quasars and ?

The Compton Gamma Ray Observatory, the second of NASA'S Great Observatories, was launched on April 5, 1991, and began operations on April 15, 1991. After a month of verification tests, the observatory began a 15-month long all-sky survey at gamma ray energies. During the observations, the four scientific instruments have studied a wide variety of astrophysical topics, including solar flares, pulsars, and active galaxies. Early results on the distribution of gamma-ray bursts indicate large-scale isotrophy, contrary to many expectations. Several quasars appear to be extremely luminous in high energy gamma rays.
From the Positivist to the Hermeneutic University: Restoring the Place of Meaning and Liberal Learning in Higher Education

This article argues that the university must shift from a positivist model, which emphasizes knowledge production and job training, to a hermeneutic one, which emphasizes understanding and meaning. Such a shift would be a response to two interrelated problems. First, the university suffers from an identity crisis in that it no longer holds a monopoly on the production and dissemination of knowledge. Second, Western culture at large suffers from a crisis of meaning both in a visceral sense and in the use of language to express meaning. Both of these crises are related to the increasing access to information and globalization. This article endeavors primarily to understand and assess these interrelated crises, but it also concludes with preliminary suggestions for how to begin to think about reformulating higher learning in hermeneutic terms.
New Directions in Intersections, Inequality, and Sentencing

Intersectional approaches to sentencing move beyond simply predicting disparities to consider the ways in which social characteristics such as gender, age, race, ethnicity, and class combine to create even more pronounced inequalities. The current review examines research on intersectionality within the context of criminal sentencing. We identify some of the most promising recent trends in this literature, such as attention to family status in the context of focal concerns as well as the inclusion of immigration status in studies of federal sentencing outcomes. Moving beyond the sentencing stage, we also suggest that an intersectional approach can be extended to decision making within the context of postsentencing outcomes, such as gender-specific and culturally sensitive programming and treatment of offenders in institutional and community corrections settings.
Observation of Apparent High Strength Singularities in Mixtures of Nematic Thermotropic and Lyotropic Liquid Crystals

Abstract High strength singularities (up to +4) are observed in emulsions of lyotropic with thermotropic nematic phases. They are most likely associated with multiple disclinations emerging near a microdroplet of one phase in the other.
Experimental investigation of a liquid-flooded Ericsson cycle cooler

Abstract An experimental test program was conducted on a novel Ericsson cycle heat pump. The concept uses liquid flooding of the compressor and expander to approach isothermal compression and expansion processes. Open drive automotive scrolls were used in the experimental system. Numerous experiments were run at various conditions using nitrogen as the refrigerant and alkyl-benzene oil as the flooding liquid. Cooling capacities of over 670 W and volumetric cooling capacities of more than 110 kJ/m 3 were measured. Second law efficiencies of approximately 3% were achieved. Similar to other gas cycles, the cycle performance is very sensitive to the adiabatic efficiencies of the rotating equipment and the performance of the off-the-shelf equipment was not sufficient to achieve high cycle efficiency. In addition, large pressure drops occurred in the system due to the instrumentation used and the long and arduous flow paths. The scroll compressor and expander were found to perform well considering that they were not designed for the operating conditions encountered.
Use of particulated antigen to enhance primary in vitro antibody responses to trinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet hemocyanin

Abstract Methods are described for the efficient induction of primary anti-hapten antibody responses to trinitrophenyl-keyhole limpet hemocyanin (TNP-KLH) in vitro. Mouse leukocytes stimulated in vitro with particulated (bentonite-adsorbed) TNP-KLH demonstrated 10-fold more IgM-secreting, plaque-forming cells (PFC) as measured by a hemolytic plaque assay than did leukocytes stimulated with soluble TNP-KLH. The T dependency of the enhanced antibody response was confirmed using highly enriched B and T lymphocyte populations. These methods should greatly facilitate studies regarding primary in vitro antibody responsiveness to T-dependent antigens.
Formation of oil and gas intrusions after the Deepwater Horizon oil spill

[1] After the Deepwater Horizon oil spill in 2010, hydrocarbons were released into the Gulf of Mexico. These hydrocarbons were found to have formed large subsurface horizontal intrusions. Socolofsky et al. studied the dynamics of the formation of these intrusions, looking at observations from the Deepwater Horizon blowout, and adapted relationships developed from lab experiments to describe the mechanisms underlying the formation of the intrusions. The authors found that the intrusions form from density stratification of multiphase plumes containing dissolved gas and oil as well as small liquid drops. They developed a method for estimating intrusion elevation and found that their estimates agreed well with observations that the intrusions were primarily between 800 and 1200 meters in depth. The models could help researchers studying the fate of subsurface oil and gas. (Geophysical Research Letters, doi:10.1029/2011GL047174, 2011)
Source number detection with nested arrays and ULAs using jackknifing

We consider the problem of source number detection based on uniform linear arrays (ULAs) and the recently proposed nested arrays. A ULA with N sensors can detect at most N - 1 sources, whereas a nested array provides O(N2) degrees of freedom with O(N) sensors, enabling us to detect K sources with N<;K sensors. In order to make full use of the available limited valuable data, we propose a novel strategy, which is inspired by the jackknifing resampling method. Exploiting numerous iterations of subsets of the whole data set, this strategy helps the existing detection methods achieve great improvements. Numerical simulations demonstrate the advantage of our strategy, both for ULAs and nested arrays.
Preventing contamination during diffusion fermentation of fodder beet cubes by pH control

Abstract The efficacy of pH adjustment in control of bacterial contamination during fermentation of fodder beet cubes was investigated in batch (BDF) and sequential batch diffusion fermentation (SBDF). BDF trials indicated that initial cube slurries should be adjusted to pH 2·05. SBDF trials showed that beers with up to 6·45% ethanol could be produced and that the pH should be maintained between pH 2·0–2·2. This pH range prevented bacterial contamination but did not interfere with the production of ethanol.