cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Clinical Reasoning: A case of bilateral foot drop in a 74-year-old man.

A 74-year-old man with no relevant medical history presented with 5 years of slowly progressive bilateral foot drop. He had used ankle foot orthoses for 3 years prior to presentation. There was no report of upper extremity weakness, numbness, paresthesia, myalgias, muscle cramps, or stiffness. He had attained age-appropriate developmental milestones as a child and was athletic, keeping up with his peers. His mother had bilateral foot drop, ankle contractures, and difficulty with ambulation. His brother, 2 daughters, and a son lacked similar symptoms. Neurologic examination showed bilateral distal lower extremity weakness (Medical Research Council grade 0/5 ankle dorsiflexion and eversion and grade 4/5 ankle plantar flexion and inversion), symmetric distal leg and intrinsic foot muscle wasting, absent patellar and Achilles tendon reflexes, and a steppage gait. Tone was reduced at bilateral ankles. Sensory examination including light touch, pinprick, vibration, and proprioception was intact. Mild bilateral pes cavus and hammertoes were noted. The remainder of the neurologic and physical examination was normal.
Group and individual selection during evolutionary transitions in individuality: meanings and partitions.

The Price equation embodies the ‘conditions approach’ to evolution in which the Darwinian conditions of heritable variation in fitness are represented in equation form. The equation can be applied ...
Heavy-duty trucking and the energy efficiency paradox: Evidence from focus groups and interviews

Abstract Theory suggests that profit maximizing firms have an incentive to incorporate cost-effective technologies into their products. However, simple net present value calculations comparing upfront costs of fuel-saving technologies to future savings suggest this is not always the case. This puzzle is commonly referred to as the “energy efficiency paradox.” A growing number of empirical studies examine why households may under-invest in energy efficiency. Fewer studies examine similar undervaluation by businesses. We explore investment decisions within the heavy-duty trucking sector for fuel-saving technologies via focus groups and interviews to gain insight into what factors might explain apparent underinvestment in fuel-saving technologies. We find some evidence that market failures related to lack of information about technology performance and network externalities contribute to slow adoption of some technologies. However, information about new technologies for tractors seems to generate limited spillovers. There is also some evidence of split incentives between owners and drivers, though companies have invested in a variety of technologies and approaches in an attempt to address these effects. Other factors important in trucking investment decisions that are not classic market failures include tradeoffs between fuel economy and other valued truck attributes, as well as uncertainty and risk associated with new technologies if decision-makers are loss averse.
Perceptions of Occupational Risk and Changes in Clinical Practice of United States Vitreoretinal Surgery Fellows during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

PURPOSE: To assess perceptions of occupational risk and changes to clinical practice of ophthalmology trainees in the United States during the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. DESIGN: An anonymous, nonvalidated, cross-sectional survey was conducted online. Data were collected from April 7 through 16, 2020. PARTICIPANTS: Second-year U.S. vitreoretinal surgery fellows in two-year training programs were invited to participate. METHODS: Online survey. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Survey questions assessed policies guiding COVID-19 response, exposure to severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2, changes in clinical duties, and methods to reduce occupational risk, including availability of personal protective equipment (PPE). RESULTS: Completed responses were obtained from 62 of 87 eligible recipients (71.2% response rate). Training settings included academic (58.1%), hybrid academic/private practice (35.5%), and private practice only settings (6.5%). Overall, 19.4% of respondents reported an exposure to a COVID-19-positive patient, 14.5% reported self-quarantining due to possible exposure, and 11.3% reported being tested for COVID-19. In regards to PPE, N95 masks were available in the emergency room (n = 40 [64.5%]), office (n = 35 [56.5%]), and operating room (n = 35 [56.5%]) settings. Perceived comfort level with PPE recommendations was significantly associated with availability of an N95 respirator mask in the clinic (P < 0.001), emergency room (P < 0.001), or operating room (P = 0.002) settings. Additional risk mitigation methods outside of PPE were: reduction in patient volume (n = 62 [100%]), limiting patient companions (n = 59 [95.2%]), use of a screening process (n = 59 [95.2%]), use of a slit-lamp face shield (n = 57 [91.9%]), temperature screening of all persons entering clinical space (n = 34 [54.84%]), and placement of face mask on patients (n = 33 [53.2%]). Overall, 16.1% reported additional clinical duties within the scope of ophthalmology, and 3.2% reported being re-deployed to nonophthalmology services. 98.4% of respondents, 98.4% expected a reduction in surgical case volume. No respondents reported loss of employment or reduction in pay or benefits due to COVID-19. CONCLUSIONS: Suspected or confirmed clinical exposure to COVID-19-positive patients occurred in approximately one fifth of trainee respondents. Perceived comfort level with PPE standards was significantly associated with N95 respirator mask availability. As surgical training programs grapple with the COVID-19 pandemic, analysis of trainees' concerns may inform development of mitigation strategies.
Radiotherapy Cooperates with IL15 to Induce Antitumor Immune Responses

Focal radiotherapy can promote cross-presentation of tumor antigens to T cells, but by itself, it is insufficient to induce therapeutically effective T-cell responses. The common gamma-chain cytokine IL15 promotes and sustains the proliferation and effector function of CD8+ T cells but has limited activity against poorly immunogenic tumors that do not elicit significant spontaneous T-cell responses. Here, we show that radiotherapy and subcutaneous IL15 had complementary effects and induced CD8+ T-cell-mediated tumor regression and long-term protective memory responses in two mouse carcinoma models unresponsive to IL15 alone. Mechanistically, radiotherapy-induced IFN type I production and Batf3-dependent conventional dendritic cells type 1 (cDC1) were required for priming of tumor-specific CD8+ T cells and for the therapeutic effect of the combination. IL15 cooperated with radiotherapy to activate and recruit cDC1s to the tumor. IL15 alone and in complex with a hybrid molecule containing the IL15α receptor have been tested in early-phase clinical trials in patients with cancer and demonstrated good tolerability, especially when given subcutaneously. Expansion of natural killer (NK) cells and CD8+ T cells was noted, without clear clinical activity, suggesting further testing of IL15 as a component of a combinatorial treatment with other agents. Our results provide the rationale for testing combinations of IL15 with radiotherapy in the clinic.
Refugee trauma work: Effects on intimate relationships and vicarious posttraumatic growth.

Abstract Background Bearing witness to Syrian refugee atrocities may result in aid-workers’ vicarious traumatization (VT). This study examined work stressors and organizational support and their associations with vicarious posttraumatic growth (VPTG) and intimate relationships. It also examined the potential mediating effects of differentiation of the self and finding meaning in trauma-work. Methods Aid-workers (N = 317) from organizations in Jordan were surveyed. Univariate statistics and structural equation modeling (SEM) were utilized to test hypothesized relationships. Results Increased VT was associated with increased VPTG, decreased intimacy and decreased differentiation. Increased needs addressed by NGOs was associated with increased VPTG, differentiation, and finding meaning. Increased trauma-exposure was associated with increased finding meaning. Increased co-workers support was associated with increased intimacy and finding meaning. Higher differentiation was associated with decreased VPTG, and increased intimacy. Whereas, increased finding meaning was associated with increased VPTG and intimacy. Differentiation partially mediated the associations between VT, and both VPTG and intimacy, and between needs at work and VPTG. Differentiation fully mediated the association between needs at work and intimacy. Finding meaning fully mediated the associations between extent of trauma-exposure, and both VPTG and intimacy, and between co-workers support and VPTG; needs at work and intimacy. It partially mediated the associations between needs at work and VPTG; co-workers support and intimacy. Limitations The study is cross-sectional and generalization is limited to aid-workers who provide services to Syrian refugees in Jordan. Conclusions Organizational support is crucial in mitigating the negative impacts of trauma-work, and in enabling a nurturing space for potential growth.
Disciplines and Their Evolution

Introduction to the major analytical and philosophical debates through which the current methods and knowledge arose, describing the differences and occasional connections among biological, physical, and social analysis. The chapter reviews scholarship before the rise of disciplinary structures, the emergence of universities in the early nineteenth century, focusing on the Friedrich Wilhelm University of Berlin, and the transition to the disciplinary organization of knowledge, especially within universities, that took hold from 1850 (72).
Bostock's Inclusive Queer Frame

Bostock v. Clayton County is the Supreme Court’s first major decision on gay rights written since Justice Kennedy’s retirement. It is a victory for the LGBT community—a momentous one. But this piece argues that Bostock is even more momentous than its holding. The case’s central syllogism is hidden beneath a deceptively straightforward reading of Title VII. Bostock says, simply and clearly, that sex equality requires queer equality, and that trans rights are human rights. Bostock’s logic is universal and inclusive. This piece centers its analysis on trans identity to explain how and why that’s important. It shows how Bostock arrives at its expansive frame for queer rights, and why its careful textual analysis leads it to an ostensibly progressive conclusion. This logic is unusual. Courts confronted with queer plaintiffs usually adopt more minoritarian frames. But in Bostock, inclusivity wins out. That’s a good thing: an inclusive account of anti-queerness is straightforward and logical. It accurately describes the way sex-based discrimination operates. It accommodates difference well but remains robust enough to account for core instances of sex discrimination. It is promising, pragmatic, and adaptable. And finally, because it shows the deep interdependence of sex-based identities, the inclusive frame is profound.
Uncovering Harassment Retaliation

As the #MeToo movement has exposed, workplace harassment is prevalent, underreporting likely contributes to its prevalence, and fears of retaliation underlie underreporting. Thus, the cycle of harassment continues. Yet we still know very little about the prevalence of retaliation or how employers respond to harassment. This Article highlights retaliation following workplace harassment as a unique and prevalent problem and examines the characteristics of harassment that affect an employer’s response. This data supports a reversal of the trend toward narrowing employer liability for harassment and retaliation that has occurred over the previous twenty years. Upwards of 70% of harassment claims filed with the EEOC include a retaliation charge, and as this Article reveals for the first time, harassment charges are more than 90% more likely to include a retaliation charge than any other type of discrimination claim filed with the EEOC. These statistics are striking, but also predictable. Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s defining of the standards for harassment liability, courts have lowered the bar for employer liability for harassment and retaliation. Courts have also created a conundrum where harassment victims are required to internally report harassment before filing a formal charge, but those reports are not always protected by retaliation law. Absent legal liability, unique characteristics of an employer’s response to harassment increase the likelihood that an employer will act against a harassment victim. Unlike many forms of discrimination, when an employer learns of harassment, the victim and harasser are still employed and the employer may believe that if it separates the two employees, the harassment will stop. The employer may be more likely to act against the victim if the harasser is more valuable to the company. Current liability standards, which make an employer more likely to be liable for supervisor harassment and harassment that is reported, should decrease an employer’s incentives to act against a victim. But an empirical analysis of the 2016 Merit Systems Protection Board harassment survey of federal employees illustrates show that being harassed by a supervisor and reporting harassment greatly increases the likelihood that a victim experiences an adverse employment action as a result of the harassment. These results support a call to broaden employer liability standards for harassment and retaliation in order to combat an employer’s incentives to act against the victim, lessen retaliation, encourage reporting, and decrease the prevalence of workplace harassment.
Chapter Two – On the Transferability of Three Water Models Developed by Adaptive Force Matching

Water is perhaps the most simulated liquid. Recently, three water models have been developed following the adaptive force matching (AFM) method that provides excellent predictions of water properties with only electronic structure information as a reference. Compared to many other electronic structure-based force fields that rely on fairly sophisticated energy expressions, the AFM water models use point-charge-based energy expressions that are supported by most popular molecular dynamics packages. An outstanding question regarding simple force fields is whether such force fields provide reasonable transferability outside of their conditions of parameterization. A survey of three AFM water models, B3LYPD-4F, BLYPSP-4F, and WAIL, are provided for simulations under conditions ranging from the melting point up to the critical point. By including ice-Ih configurations in the training set, the WAIL potential predicts the melting temperate, TM, of ice-Ih correctly. Without training for ice, BLYPSP-4F underestimates TM by about 15 K. Interestingly, the B3LYPD-4F model gives a TM 14 K too high. The overestimation of TM by B3LYPD-4F mostly likely reflects a deficiency of the B3LYP reference. The BLYPSP-4F model gives the best estimate of the boiling temperature TB and is arguably the best potential for simulating water in the temperature range from TM to TB. None of the three AFM potentials provides a good description of the critical point. Although the B3LYPD-4F model gives the correct critical temperature TC and critical density ρC, there are good reasons to believe that the agreement is reached fortuitously. Links to Gromacs input files for the three water models are provided at the end of the chapter.
Evaluation of asynchronous geiger-mode avalanche photodiode arrays for deep-space optical communications

The NASA Psyche mission is set to explore an asteroid located between Mars and Jupiter with a launch date in 2022. Onboard the Psyche spacecraft is experimental demonstrator technology that will allow scientists to explore the capabilities of optical communications – a program called Deep Space Optical Communication (DSOC) led by Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL). DSOC seeks to improve communications performance by developing a space-based Flight Laser Transceiver (FLT) and a ground-based transceiver to enable photon-efficient communications with equipment in deep space. An integral part to this FLT system is a high-efficiency photon-counting camera (PCC) that is able to detect both the 1064nm uplink/beacon laser photons and 1550nm downlink laser photons with low background noise, and is capable of withstanding the rigors of space-travel. The paper details the characterization of several asynchronous Geiger-Mode Avalanche Photodiode (GmAPD) arrays developed by MIT Lincoln Laboratory for use in the PCC- specifically evaluating the temperature dependence of background noise, photon detection efficiency at 1064nm and 1550nm wavelengths, pixel lifetime testing, and angle of acceptance measurements. The results of this characterization are used to determine the nominal conditions for the device to operate in while in flight to maintain an efficient link with the ground-based transceiver.
Sex differences in the vascular response to sympathetic activation during acute hypoxaemia.

NEW FINDINGS What is the central question of this study? Sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction is preserved during hypoxaemia in humans, but our understanding of vascular control comes from predominantly male cohorts. We tested the hypothesis that young women attenuate sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction during steady-state hypoxaemia, whereas men do not? What is the main finding and its importance? Sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction is preserved or even enhanced during steady-state hypoxia in young men, and the peripheral vascular response to sympathetic activation during hypoxaemia is attenuated in young women. These data advance our understanding of sex-related differences in hypoxic vascular control. ABSTRACT Activation of the sympathetic nervous system causes vasoconstriction and a reduction in peripheral blood flow. Sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction may be attenuated during systemic hypoxia to maintain oxygen delivery; however, in predominantly male participants sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction is preserved or even enhanced during hypoxaemia. Given the potential for sex-specific differences in hypoxic vascular control, prior results are limited in application. We tested the hypothesis that young women attenuate sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction during steady-state hypoxaemia, whereas men do not. Healthy young men (n = 13, 25 ± 4 years) and women (n = 11, 24 ± 4 years) completed two trials consisting of a 2-min cold pressor test (CPT, a well-established sympathoexcitatory stimulus) during baseline normoxia and steady-state hypoxaemia. Beat-to-beat blood pressure (finger photoplethysmography) and forearm blood flow (venous occlusion plethysmography) were measured continuously. Total and forearm vascular conductance (TVC and FVC, respectfully) were calculated. A change (Δ) in TVC and FVC from steady-state during the last 1 min of CPT was calculated and differences between normoxia and systemic hypoxia were assessed. In men, the reduction in TVC during CPT was greater during hypoxia compared to normoxia (ΔTVC, P = 0.02), whereas ΔTVC did not differ between conditions in women (P = 0.49). In men, ΔFVC did not differ between normoxia and hypoxia (P = 0.92). In women, the reduction in FVC during CPT was attenuated during hypoxia (ΔFVC, P < 0.01). We confirm sympathetically mediated vasoconstriction is preserved or enhanced during hypoxaemia in young men, whereas peripheral vascular responsiveness to sympathetic activation during hypoxaemia is attenuated in young women. The results advance our understanding of sex-related differences in hypoxic vascular control.
Seizures in Children with Cardiac Disease on Extracorporeal Membrane Oxygenation.

Children supported with extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO) have been shown to be at risk for developing seizures. However, previous studies have consisted of heterogeneous patient populations. We aimed to describe the rate of seizures in pediatric patients receiving ECMO for cardiac indications and to identify risk factors for the occurrence of this complication. This is a retrospective cohort study of consecutive pediatric patients on ECMO for congenital or acquired cardiac disease between 2014 and 2018 at a tertiary care pediatric hospital. We reviewed 110 children, of whom 104 (95%) received continuous electroencephalogram for at least 48 h after ECMO initiation. Seizures were observed in 20 (18%) children. Seizures were subclinical only in 13 (65%) patients, and 8 (40%) developed status epilepticus. The median time from ECMO initiation to first seizure was 34 h (25%, 75%: 19, 44). Children with seizures were more likely to have suffered pre-ECMO cardiac arrest (odds ratio 5.7, 95% confidence interval 2.0–16.1, p < 0.001), require extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation (odds ratio 5.2, 95% confidence interval 1.9–14.7, p < 0.001), and have been cannulated via the cervical vessels (p = 0.029). Children with seizures also had lower pH nadir prior to ECMO (p = 0.015) and had higher peak lactate prior to ECMO (p = 0.002). Patients with seizures had significantly a longer median intensive care unit length of stay, (43 versus 32 days, p = 0.02), had a significantly worse pediatric cerebral performance score (2 versus 1, p = 0.03), and tended to have worse survival to hospital discharge (50% versus 71%, p = 0.069). Seizures in pediatric patients on ECMO for cardiac indications are common, occurring in nearly one in five patients. Seizures are frequently subclinical only and often progress to status epilepticus. Continuous electroencephalogram is therefore warranted for this patient population, especially in the setting of cardiac arrest, extracorporeal cardiopulmonary resuscitation, or severe metabolic acidosis.
Dennettian Panpsychism: Multiple Drafts, All of Them Conscious

I explore some surprising convergences between apparently opposite theories of consciousness—panpsychism (specifically constitutive panpsychism) and eliminativism (specifically Dennett’s multiple drafts model). I outline what a ‘Dennettian panpsychism’ might look like, and consider some of the challenging but fertile questions it raises about determinacy, holism, and subjecthood. What unites constitutive panpsychism and the multiple drafts model is that both present the unitary consciousness we can report as resting atop a multiplicity of independent processes; both reject as misguided the search for a definite threshold between processing that is truly conscious and that which is merely preconscious. What divides them is that Dennett regards it as unreasonable to posit inaccessible consciousness, but reasonable to doubt or deny the existence of consciousness, while panpsychists think the opposite.
Integration of Qualitative Segmentation and PBM Methods

The performance of most physics-based shape estimation techniques depends on the accuracy of the initial segmentation and the initial placement of the model given the segmented data [275, 216, 229]. In order to address the above limitations, a new approach to shape recovery from 2D images which integrates qualitative shape recovery [71] and quantitative physics-based estimation techniques [181] has been recently proposed by Dickinson and Metaxas [183]. Through qualitative shape recovery based on aspect matching, we extract the qualitative shapes of objects that are composed of primitives which belong to a fixed vocabulary of shapes. Furthermore, the qualitative shape recovery handles occlusion through a hierarchical aspect representation. We then use the qualitative correspondence of edge segments in the images and related contours on the models to provide strong fitting constraints to our physics-based estimation technique presented in the previous chapters. The “tokens” for matching features in the images are groups of edge segments (curved or straight) corresponding to an aspect of a part (as opposed to points or lines). Since the qualitative and quantitative shape recovery processes are both model-based, the approach is robust to noise and occlusion.
re-radicalizing Kierkegaard: An alternative to Religiousness C in light of an investigation into the teleological suspension of the ethical

In this paper I defend the view that not only does Fear and Trembling espouse the teleological suspension of the ethical as a radical suspension and even possible violation of otherwise ethical duties, but also that Kierkegaard himself espouses it and carries the belief through his entire authorship. A brief analysis of Religiousness A suggests that Climacus made a dialectical error in Concluding Unscientific Postscript. This error is corrected by Anti-Climacus and Kierkegaard's own journals, and the correction makes possible a full-blooded affirmation of the teleological suspension where Climacus failed. This reaffirmation can explain the shift from Climacus to Anti-Climacus on the topic of hidden inwardness as well as the shift from Climacus to Kierkegaard on the topic of religious suffering. It can also provide a legitimate Kierkegaardian alterative to positing a stage Merold Westphal (and not Kierkegaard) has termed Religiousness C. What we are left with is an uncompromisingly radical religious dialectic that gives every appearance of being exactly what Kierkegaard intended.
Growing Adult Readers: Promoting Leisure Reading in Academic Libraries

This article provides an introduction to the recreational reading promotion tools at VCU Libraries, including a book review blog, book swap, and bulletin board, as well as the libraries’ involvement with VCU’s summer reading program and Richmond’s citywide “One Community One Book” initiative. Policies and operating procedures will be examined, and these services will be discussed in the context of other libraries’ offerings. We will also discuss why there is a need for these services–which have traditionally been the purview of the public library–on a college campus. Reading among American adults is in dramatic decline, and the academic library is a natural setting in which to combat this trend. The Virginia Commonwealth University Libraries’ literacy outreach efforts serve to promote and strengthen lifelong learning and student engagement, two goals outlined in the VCU strategic plan.
A 13C NMR study of four lignins in the solid and solution states

A series of four solvent-extracted lignins were subjected to solid-state 13C NMR analysis using the cross polarization-magic angle (CP/MAS) technique. Comparisons are made between the solid-sample spectra and high-field spectra obtained on solutions of these lignins. Specific signals in both the solid-state and solution spectra can be assigned to structural features present in the lignins. Most of the spectral information present in the solution-state spectra are seen by CP/MAS, a technique that shows great promise for the study of lignin in solid samples.
Clinical Gynecologic Oncology

Dedications Contributors Preface Acknowledgements 1. Preinvasive Disease of the Cervix, William T. Creasman 2. Preinvasive Disease of the Vagina and Vulva and Related Disorders, William T. Creasman 3. Invasive Cervical Cancer, Bradley J. Monk and Krishnansu S. Tewaria 4. Endometrial Hyperplasia, Estrogen Therapy, and the Prevention of Endometrial Cancer, Joan L. Walker and Rosemary E. Zuna 5. Adenocarcinoma of the Uterus, William T. Creasman 6. Sarcoma of the Uterus, D. Scott McMeekin 7. Gestational Trophoblastic Disease, John Soper and William T. Creasman 8. Invasive Cancer of the Vulva, Frederick B. Stehman 9. Invasive Cancer of the Vagina and Urethra, Brian M. Slomovitz and Robert L. Coleman 10. The Adnexal Mass and Early Ovarian Cancer, Philip J. DiSaia 11. Epithelial Ovarian Cancer, Larry J. Copeland 12. Germ Cell, Stromal, and Other Ovarian Tumors, Michael A. Bidus, Christopher M. Zahn and G. Scott Rose 13. Fallopian Tube Cancer, Jan S. Sunde, Keith J. Kaplan and G. Scott Rose 14. Breast Diseases, James V. Fiorica 15. Colorectal and Bladder Cancer, Philip J. DiSaia 16. Cancer in Pregnancy, Krishnansu S. Tewari 17. Complications of Disease and Therapy, Daniel L. Clarke-Pearson 18. Basic Principles of Chemotherapy, Christina S. Chu and Stephen C. Rubin 19. Tumor Immunology, Host Defense Mechanisms, and Biologic Therapy, Philip J. DiSaia 20. Genes and Cancer, David G. Mutch and Philip J. DiSaia 21. Palliative Care and Quality of Life, Bradley J. Monk and Lari Wenzel 22. Role of Laparoscopic Surgery in Gynecologic Malignancies, Robert S.Mannel 23. Epidemiology of Commonly Used Statistical Terms, and Analysis of Clinical Studies, Wendy R. Brewster APPENDICES A. Staging, William T. Creasman B. Modified from Common Terminology Criteria for Adverse Events (CTCAE), Philip J. DiSaia C. Blood Component Therapy, Philip J. DiSaia D. Suggested Recommendations for Routine Cancer Screening, William T. Creasman E. Nutritional Therapy, Philip J. DiSaia F. Basic Principles in Gynecologic Radiotherapy, Catheryn M. Yashar Index
The impact of hardware on open architecture design /spl lsqb/on power systems/spl rsqb/

The introduction of high performance, low cost CPUs and workstations has affected the architecture design and philosophy of power system SCADA/EMS control systems more than any other development. In the move towards open architectures and the incorporation of these new platforms in those architectures, industry wide standards and interfaces must be adopted with an eye towards achieving the previously unattainable goals of platform independence, software portability, open extensibility and others. >
The Role of Social Capital in the Experiences of Hispanic Women Engineering Majors

Background Women and minorities remain significantly underrepresented in the undergraduate engineering disciplines despite decades-long recruitment and retention efforts. As United States demographics shift and the nation continues to recognize the value of workplace diversity, engineering education stakeholders continue to seek ways to increase participation of women and minority students. Purpose Our research examines the following question: For Hispanic women whose parents have limited educational attainment, what available sources of potential social capital do they identify, and by what means do they access and activate these resources in their decisions to select and persist in engineering as a college major? We hope to provide insights for United States institutions that serve Hispanic students, as well as those seeking to diversify their student body. Design/method Utilizing Lin's network theory of social capital as a framework, we employed semi-structured interviews in a multiple case study research methodology, taking a constructivist epistemological view. Results Three major findings are that (1) lack of available family social capital was supplemented mostly by school personnel; (2) delayed recognition or identification of available resources slowed access and activation of resources, leading to difficult university transitions; and (3) if accessed and activated, peer groups and institutional support systems provided sources of social capital. Conclusions Even single instances or weak ties can be effective in bridging gaps in engineering-related social capital. Facilitating opportunities for students to develop sustained social capital may have potential to attract and retain underrepresented students in engineering.
Effects of inertia on the diffusional deposition of small particles to spheres and cylinders at low Reynolds numbers

A formalism that accounts for inertial and diffusive effects in the dynamics of a dilute gas-particle suspension is introduced. The treatment is purely deterministic away from a very thin Brownian diffusion sublayer, while, within the sublayer, inertial effects are small, permitting a near-equilibrium expansion in powers of the Stokes number (particle relaxation time divided by flow characteristic residence time). This expansion provides phenomenological expressions for the particle velocity including two terms : the standard Brownian diffusion, and an additional inertial drift velocity which is closely related to the pressure diffusion term of the Chapman-Enskog expansion. As an example, the general formalism is applied in detail to the case of Stokes flow about a sphere, and sketched for the similar case of a cylinder. Two competing mechanisms are seen to affect the total rate of particle capture by the sphere : (if the stagnation-point region is considerably enriched in particles owing to the high compressibility of the particle phase, which leads to locally enhanced deposition; (ii) centrifugal forces tend to deplete the Brownian diffusion sublayer of particles, reducing diffusion rates away from the stagnation point to the surface. The first effect is seen to dominate over the second except in a very narrow zone of small Stokes numbers. Our method bridges the gap between Levich's solution for the ‘pure-diffusion’ limit and Michael's treatment in the ‘pure-inertia’ limit.
Infrared absorption by sodium chloride-type lattices

Abstract A computation is made of the frequencies at which the vibrational motion of the atoms in a crystal of the NaCl-type structure should produce absorption. Four subsidiary frequencies are found in addition to the classical “limiting frequency”. The results are evaluated for those alkali halides for which compressibility and lattice distance are known; it is found that experimental absorption measurements made on thin evaporated films are fitted more closely by some of the subsidiary frequencies than by the classical limiting frequency.
Synchrotron photoionization measurements of fundamental autoignition reactions: Product formation in low-temperature isobutane oxidation

Abstract Product formation in laser-photolytic Cl-initiated low-temperature (550–700 K) oxidation of isobutane in a slow-flow reactor was investigated by tunable synchrotron photoionization mass spectrometry. These experiments probed the time-resolved formation of products following photolytic initiation of the oxidation, and identify isomeric species by their photoionization spectra. The relative yields of oxygenated product isomers (2,2-dimethyloxirane, methylpropanal, and 3-methyloxetane) are in reasonable concord with measurements from Walker and co-workers (J. Chem. Soc. Faraday Trans. 74 (1) (1978) 2229–2251) at higher temperature. Oxidation of isotopically labeled isobutane, (CH 3 ) 3 CD, suggests that methylpropanal formation can proceed from both (CH 3 ) 2 CCH 2 OOH and CH 3 CH(CH 2 )CH 2 OOH isomers. Bimodal time behavior is observed for product formation; the initial prompt formation reflects “formally direct” channels, principally chemical activation, and the longer-timescale “delayed” component arises from dissociation of thermalized ROO and QOOH radicals. The proportion of prompt to delayed signal is smaller for the oxygenated products than for the isobutene product. This channel-specific behavior can be qualitatively understood by considering the different energetic distributions of ROO and QOOH in formally direct vs. thermal channels and the fact that the transition states involved in the formation of oxygenated products are “tighter” than that for isobutene formation.
"In What Way Are Apples and Oranges Alike?" A Critique of Flynn's Interpretation of the Flynn Effect

Flynn wrote a book devoted to the Flynn effect, featuring his theoretical explanation of why the intelligence of worldwide populations has apparently increased from generation to generation. The es...
PAG segregation during exposure affecting innate material roughness

We have developed an improved AFM-based technique to measure intrinsic material roughness (IMR) after base development. We have investigated the contribution of different polymeric PAGs to IMR. These polymeric PAGs include copolymers of several styrenic PAGs with hydroxystyrene. The IMR of these polymer-bound PAGs is reduced relative to that of their nonpolymeric counterparts with DUV exposure. Theses results represent further evidence for PAG segregation during the bake steps as being responsible for increased IMR in exposed resists, presumably by increasing the dissolution rate inhomogeneity on a nano-scale level. The work also shows that the effects of PAG segregation can be mitigated by employing polymer-bound PAGs.
Evidence of lateral synaptic interactions in olfactory bulb output cell responses to odors.

Abstract Lateral inhibitory circuits are found throughout the nervous system. While the neuroanatomical basis for lateral inhibitory interactions exists in the olfactory bulb of Norway rats, there has been no direct demonstration of lateral inhibition in the responses of olfactory bulb output neurons to odor stimulation. In this report we recorded the extracellular activity of a large number of sequentially recorded mitral/tufted cells in response to odor stimuli at two different concentrations, as well as the inter-cell distance between these cells. The probability of recording two cells with excitatory responses to the same odor was then determined for inter-cell distances up to 500 μm. For cells stimulated with high concentration odors, the probability of two cells 100–200 μm apart both being excited by the same odor was significantly lower than that predicted if all cells responded independently. Cells separated by greater or shorter inter-cell distances did not differ from the predicted from the predicted value. Responses to the low odor concentration were not dependent on inter-cell distances. These results demonstrate that lateral synaptic interactions within the olfactory bulb influence output cell responses to odor stimulation.
Geoengineering Earth's radiation balance to mitigate CO2-induced climate change

To counteract anthropogenic climate change, several schemes have been proposed to diminish solar radiation incident on Earth's surface. These geoengineering schemes could reverse global annual mean warming; however, it is unclear to what extent they would mitigate regional and seasonal climate change, because radiative forcing from greenhouse gases such as CO2 differs from that of sunlight. No previous study has directly addressed this issue. In the NCAR CCM3 atmospheric general circulation model, we reduced the solar luminosity to balance the increased radiative forcing from doubling atmospheric CO2. Our results indicate that geoengineering schemes could markedly diminish regional and seasonal climate change from increased atmospheric CO2, despite differences in radiative forcing patterns. Nevertheless, geoengineering schemes could prove environmentally risky.
Quantum Equivalence Principle Violations in Scalar-Tensor Theories

We study the equivalence principle and its violations by quantum effects in scalar-tensor theories that admit a conformal frame in which matter only couples to the spacetime metric. These theories possess Ward identities that guarantee the validity of the weak equivalence principle to all orders in the matter coupling constants. These Ward identities originate from a broken Weyl symmetry under which the scalar field transforms by a shift, and from the symmetry required to couple a massless spin two particle to matter (diffeomorphism invariance). But the same identities also predict violations of the weak equivalence principle relatively suppressed by at least two powers of the gravitational couplings, and imply that quantum corrections do not preserve the structure of the action of these theories. We illustrate our analysis with a set of specific examples for spin zero and spin half matter fields that show why matter couplings do respect the equivalence principle, and how the couplings to the gravitational scalar lead to the weak equivalence principle violations predicted by the Ward identities.
Epstein-Barr virus-induced immunoglobulin synthesis by B cells from individuals with late-onset panhypogammaglobulinemia.

Epstein-Barr virus (EBV) transformation was used to examine the differentiation potential of circulating B cells from eight individuals with late-onset panhypogammaglobulinemia. Cytoplasmic and secreted immunoglobulins were evaluated by immunofluorescence and radio-immunoassay. EBV-infected cultures of B cells from patients and healthy controls generated similar numbers of IgM-secreting plasma cells, but relatively few IgG and IgA plasma cells were induced in cultures of patients' B cells. As further evidence of B-cell immaturity, approximately 90% of the IgA B cells in the eight patients coexpressed IgM. Clonal diversity of B cells from hypogammaglobulinemic patients was examined with a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies directed against idiotypic and VH subgroup determinants. The frequencies of EBV-induced plasma cells exhibiting the different idiotypic and VH determinants were similar for patients and controls. The data suggest the continued generation of clonally diverse B cells that are capable of terminal plasma-cell differentiation when the normal triggering mechanisms are bypassed by EBV. The arrested differentiation at an immature B-cell stage in these hypogammaglobulinemic individuals would appear to reflect a defect in normal B-cell triggering.
Butorphanol: a double-blind evaluation in postoperative patients with moderate or severe pain

Informed consent was obtained from over 350 patients scheduled for major elective operations to accept either 5 or 10 mg morphine or 0.5 or 1.0 mg butorphanol (intramuscularly) under double-blind conditions according to a random assignment schedule, if they should complain of moderate to severe pain while in the recovery room. Of those consenting, 120 patients were entered in the study. The remainder either denied any pain, stated that they had only slight or mild pain, or in a few instances, refused analgesic medication although they stated they had more than mild pain. Pain intensity and pain relief were scored for each treated patient at 30, 60 and 120 minutes. Scores were analyzed statistically after tabulating the data. The data show that in virtually all these patients appreciable pain relief was admitted at the first observation period (30 minutes after administration of the drug) and it persisted for at least two hours in 90 per cent of them. No consistent alteration in the vital signs (blood pressure, pulse rate, rate of respiration or tidal volume ) was evident in these patients during the two hours they were kept under close surveillance. Approximately 10 per cent of the patients receiving butorphanol, and 15 per cent of those receiving morphine, did not request more analgesic medication; 52 per cent (butorphanol) and 42 per cent (morphine) respectively requested additional medication two to five hours after, and 25 per cent (butorphanol) and 34 per cent (morphine), respectively, requested it only after 5 hours. Analysis by the parallel line assay method produced an estimate that butorphanol ( base weight ) was on the order of ten times more potent than morphine sulfate. Due to uncertain factors, the effect of the two doses of butorphanol tested could not be distinguished two hours after medication.
Is blastocyst transfer useful as an alternative treatment for patients with multiple in vitro fertilization failures

Abstract Objective: To determine whether blastocyst transfer is of benefit to patients with multiple IVF failures. Design: Retrospective cohort study. Setting: The George Washington University Medical Center. Patient(s): Patients undergoing IVF between October 1, 1997, and November 30, 1998, who had previously undergone three or more unsuccessful IVF cycles. Patients who had at least three embryos at the 8- to 12-cell stage available on day 3 were eligible for the study. Intervention(s): Patients were given the option of day 3 ET (group A) or blastocyst transfer (group B). Main Outcome Measure(s): Blastocyst-formation rate, clinical pregnancy rate (PR) per transfer, and implantation rate per transfer. Result(s): Groups A and B were similar in terms of age, the number of previous failed IVF cycles, fertilization rate, and the number of fertilized oocytes per cycle. The blastocyst-formation rate was 51.0%. Clinical pregnancy and implantation rates per transfer were statistically significantly higher in the blastocyst-transfer group. There were no multiple pregnancies after blastocyst transfer. Conclusion: Blastocyst transfer increases implantation rates and PRs in patients with multiple failed IVF cycles, without increasing the risk of multiple pregnancy.
Lung cancer: A combined modality approach to staging and therapy.

This review paper emphasizes the importance of the histological diagnosis of the lung tumor by carefully outlining the TNM staging system for carcinoma of the lung, formulated by the task force on carcinoma of the lung of the American Joint Committee for Staging and End Result Reporting. The use of Gallium 67 in the sequential staging of the disease is discussed. The treatments of this disease that have been found effective include surgery, radiotherapy, combination chemotherapy and immunotherapy. (KRM)
Regulation of renal kallikrein synthesis and activation by glucocorticoids

Regulation of renal kallikrein synthesis and activation by glucocorticoids. The effects of endogenous and exogenous glucocorticoids on renal active and prokallikrein levels (ng/mg protein) and in vivo kallikrein synthesis rate were studied in the conscious rat. Within two hours after low dose methylprednisolone (MP, 0.0125 to 0.05 mg/100 g body wt), active kallikrein and prokallikrein fell (29.1 ± 2.3 and 35.1 ± 2.7 ng/mg protein, respectively, compared to 38.4 ± 3.7 and 42.7 ± 3.4 in vehicle-treated rats, P
A systolic murmur is a common presentation of aortic regurgitation detected by echocardiography.

Background: The finding of aortic regurgitation at a classical examination is a diastolic murmur. Hypothesis: Aortic regurgitation is more likely to be associated with a systolic than with a diastolic murmur during routine screening by a noncardiologist physician. Methods: In all, 243 asymptomatic patients (mean age 42 ±10 years) with no known cardiac disease but at risk for aortic valve disease due to prior mediastinal irradiation (≥ 35 Gy) underwent auscultation by a noncardiologist followed by echocardiography. A systolic murmur was considered benign if it was grade ≤ II/VI, not holosystolic, was not heard at the apex, did not radiate to the carotids, and was not associated with a diastolic murmur. Results: Of the patients included, 122 (49%) were male, and 86 (35%) had aortic regurgitation, which was trace in 20 (8%), mild in 52 (21%), and moderate in 14 (6%). A systolic murmur was common in patients with aortic regurgitation, occurring in 12 (86%) with moderate, 26 (50%) with mild, 6 (30%) with trace, and 27 (17%) with no aortic regurgitation (p < 0.0001). The systolic murmurs were classified as benign in 21 (78%) patients with mild and 8 (67%) with moderate aortic regurgitation. Diastolic murmurs were rare, occurring in two (14%) with moderate, two (4%) with mild, and three (2%) with no aortic regurgitation (p = 0.15). Conclusions: An isolated systolic murmur is a common auscultatory finding by a noncardiologist in patients with moderate or milder aortic regurgitation. A systolic murmur in patients at risk for aortic valve disease should prompt a more thorough physical examination for aortic regurgitation.