cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Altered fatty acid-binding protein 4 (FABP4) expression and function in human and animal models of hepatocellular carcinoma.

Background and aims Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the third leading cause of cancer-related mortality. Risk factors for developing HCC include viral hepatitis, alcohol and obesity. Fatty acid-binding proteins (FABPs) bind long-chain free fatty acids (FFAs) and are expressed in a tissue-specific pattern; FABP1 being the predominant hepatic form, and FABP4 the predominant adipocyte form. The aims of this study were to investigate the expression and function of FABPs1-9 in human and animal models of obesity-related HCC. Methods FABP1-9 expression was determined in a mouse model of obesity-promoted HCC. Based on these data, expression and function of FABP4 was determined in human HCC cells (HepG2 and HuH7) in vitro. Serum from patients with different underlying hepatic pathologies was analysed for circulating FABP4 levels. Results Livers from obese mice, independent of tumour status, exhibited increased FABP4 mRNA and protein expression concomitant with elevated serum FABP4. In vitro, FABP4 expression was induced in human HCC cells by FFA treatment, and led to FABP4 release into culture medium. Treatment of HCC cells with exogenous FABP4 significantly increased proliferation and migration of human HCC cells. Patient serum analysis demonstrated significantly increased FABP4 in those with underlying liver disease, particularly non-alcoholic fatty liver disease (NAFLD) and HCC. Conclusions These data suggest FABP4, an FABP not normally expressed in the liver, can be synthesized and secreted by hepatocytes and HCC cells, and that FABP4 may play a role in regulating tumour progression in the underlying setting of obesity.
The Church as an Agent in Rural Mental Health

Many rural communities lack adequate mental health services. Additionally, there are specific problems associated with the delivery of services to rural citizens. A recent surge of interest in addr...
Teaching embedded systems using AVR microcontrollers: tutorial presentation

As computing becomes more ubiquitous in everyday life, exposing CS students to embedded systems is increasingly relevant. The AVR family of 8bit microcontrollers is a simple and inexpensive way to introduce students to embedded systems development. AVR microcontrollers are designed to be programmed in C. They work well for applications such as robotics, data acquisition, and embedded control. Because they are both simple and powerful, AVR microcontrollers can be used in a wide range of courses, from CS1 to upperlevel courses.
Does resin based dentine bonding work

Since Buonocore, in the mid 1950s, introduced enamel etching to be used to bond resinous restorations to enamel, different resin based bonding procedures have continuously found their way into dental practise. Today, dentists bond materials not only to enamel, but also to dentine. Up until recently, the clinical success with dentine bonding agents had been unreliable at best, and many clinicians had become sceptical as to whether it would ever be possible to bond to dentine. In this paper, some of the important break-throughs in the field of dentinal adhesives are reviewed in an attempt to throw some light on the question, does resin based dentine bonding work? The technical procedure used to optimise dentine bonding is reviewed, emphasising the significance of etching dentine, placing the primer on a slightly moist dentine surface, avoiding oxygen inhibition of the bonding resin, and maximising the degree of cure. In addition, emphasis is also placed on the significance of variations in dentine structure, and how sclerotic dentine may make dentine bonding less efficient. The conclusion of the entire review is that although significant improvements have been made in the field of dentine bonding during the last few years, it is still too early to conclude that dentine bonding will survive several years of clinical service.
Using Calendars to Teach Science

This paper considers the use of calendar construction as an activity for 5 th through 8 th graders to reinforce science and mathematics concepts. The fundamental cyclic nature of many processes makes it possible to posit alternatives to the modern calendar. Students, in constructing their own calendars, will better appreciate the scientific basis of the modern calendar as well as the cyclic nature of the processes considered in the construction of alternatives. This enhances STEM skills by requiring the students to apply creative mathematical and scientific solutions to a real world problem: tracking cyclic time.
Synchronization and avalanching amongst coupled phase oscillators, mechanical lasing

We present theory and numerical simulations for two nonlinear systems consisting of a large number of eccentrically-weighted DC motors on mechanical bases. These are generalizations of the Kuramoto model for synchronizing phase oscillators, one chief difference being that the coupling is now frequency dependent. In one system the base is resonant and has a single degree of freedom. This system exhibits the expected second order phase transformation: for sufficient coupling strength the motors synchronize with a power output that grows with the distance above criticality. In the synchronized state the base oscillates at a single frequency (below its nominal resonance) with an amplitude that rises superluminescently with the number of motors. The degree of synchronization fluctuates intermittently, with statistics similar to those of universal crackling noise and avalanches. In our other system the motors are placed densely on a tensioned membrane, with sound speed such that wavelength is large compared to motor size and spacing. As such the structure is an active nonlinear metamaterial. As a function of coupling strength we observe a lasing transition from a near-quiescent state to a state in which the membrane is dominated by a single wavelength, and acoustic power emission is high.
The long isoform of ZAP widely restricts Paramyxoviruses

Paramyxoviruses (PVs) are negative-sense RNA viruses that are important in human and animal health, and can cause severe zoonotic diseases. We screened a wide range of animal and human PV matrix proteins for host interactions, and found that the long (L) isoform of the host protein ZAP (zinc-finger antiviral protein) interacted with all the tested viral matrixes. ZAP-L is constitutively expressed, has a prenlyation motif for membrane-localization, and primarily mediates antiviral activity by binding and degrading viral RNAs through the exosome complex. However, ZAP restriction of PVs has not been demonstrated in the literature. We found that knockdown of ZAP-L results in increased replication of a panel of five human and animal PVs. Overexpression of ZAP-L (but not ZAP-short) restricts replication of PVs in a reciprocal pattern – with the notable exception of Sendai virus (SeV) – and as with other viruses, mutating the prenylation motif of ZAP-L abolishes restriction. RT-qPCR of PV RNAs and pulled-down RNAs does not indicate specific targeting of a viral transcript by ZAP-L, although overall genome abundance is reduced. Finally, immunoprecipitation of ZAP shows an additional RNA-independent interaction between ZAP-L and SeV-nucleocapsid not found with HPIV3-nucleocapsid, a closely-related PV. Thus, we have observed that ZAP-L interacts with the matrix of, and restricts replication of, a wide range of paramyxoviruses. A PV that is not restricted (SeV), has an additional interaction with ZAP via its nucleocapsid protein that may ameliorate ZAP restriction. Investigating ZAP-related restriction differences between closely-related PVs may shed light on anti-viral mechanisms of ZAP.
Cavity-Backed Antenna-Coupled Nanothermocouples

This paper reports a two-orders-of-magnitude improvement in the sensitivity of antenna-coupled nanothermocouple (ACNTC) infrared detectors. The electrical signal generated by on-chip ACNTCs results from the temperature difference between a resonant antenna locally heated by infrared radiation and the substrate. A cavity etched under the antenna provides two benefits. It eliminates the undesirable cooling of the hot junction by thermally isolating the antenna from the substrate. More importantly, careful cavity design results in constructive interference of the incident radiation reflected back to the antenna, which significantly increases the detector sensitivity. We present the cavity-depth-dependent response of ACNTCs with cavity depths between 1 μm and 22 μm. When constructive interference is maximized, the thermal response increases by 100-fold compared to devices without the cavity.
Cybernetics and the human sciences

Cybernetics saturates the humanities. Norbert Wiener’s movement gave vocabulary and hardware to developments all across the early digital era, and still does so today to those who seek to interpret...
Seafood consumption is associated with higher follicular fluid arsenic (As) and mercury (Hg) concentrations in women undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF).

Abstract Human exposure to non-essential toxic metals such as cadmium (Cd), mercury (Hg), and lead (Pb), and metalloids such as arsenic (As) commonly occurs through diet. Toxic trace element exposures have been reported in association with fertility and fecundity in epidemiologic studies even at low to moderate levels. While most previous studies employed blood and urine biomarkers of exposure, few have assessed toxic trace elements in ovarian follicular fluid (FF), which surrounds the developing oocyte and hence may better reflect concentrations potentially affecting reproductive outcomes. Our objective was to identify dietary predictors of FF toxic trace elements in n = 56 women (mean age: 38.3 years) undergoing in vitro fertilization (IVF) at the University of California at San Francisco. We determined As, Hg, Cd, and Pb in 197 FF specimens, collected on the day of oocyte retrieval, using inductively coupled plasma tandem mass spectrometry. A comprehensive food frequency questionnaire was used to assess the weekly and annual dietary “patterns” of participants. Consumption of specific seafood items and turkey were correlated with individual FF toxic trace elements. We also found that each unit higher seafood consumption in the past week dominated by mollusks, shrimp, and bass was associated with 60% higher FF As (95% confidence interval (CI): 25%, 105%) and FF Hg (95%CI: 7%, 136%) concentrations. Higher annual seafood consumption dominated by urchin, crab, and trout was associated with 16% higher FF As (95%CI: −2%, 38%) and 31% higher FF Hg (95%CI: 7%, 60%) concentrations per unit intake. No associations were noted between diet and Cd and Pb levels in FF. Overall, our results suggest that higher seafood consumption contributes to elevated levels of As and Hg in FF. These findings are consistent with previous IVF studies that assessed toxic trace element exposures in blood and urine. To our knowledge, this is the first study to report that diet might be a source of As, Hg, Cd, and Pb in FF.
Correlation of 3D Joint Space Width From Weightbearing CT With Outcomes After Intra-articular Calcaneal Fracture.

Background:Posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA) of the subtalar joint is a serious, disabling, and frequent complication following intra-articular calcaneal fractures (IACFs). Using plain radiograph...
Phenotypic plasticity of ER+ breast cancer in the bone microenvironment

ER+ breast cancer exhibits a strong bone-tropism in metastasis. How the bone microenvironment impacts the ER signaling and endocrine therapies remains poorly understood. Here, we discover that the osteogenic niche transiently and reversibly reduces ER expression and activities specifically in bone micrometastases (BMMs), leading to endocrine resistance. As BMMs progress, the ER reduction and endocrine resistance may partially recover in cancer cells away from the osteogenic niche, creating phenotypic heterogeneity in macrometases. Using multiple approaches including an evolving barcoding strategy, we demonstrated that this process is independent of clonal selection, and represents an EZH2-mediated epigenomic reprogramming. EZH2 drives ER+ BMMs toward a basal and stem-like state. EZH2 inhibition reverses endocrine resistance. These data exemplify how epigenomic adaptation to the bone microenvironment drives phenotypic plasticity of metastatic seeds, fosters intra-metastatic heterogeneity, and alters therapeutic responses. Our study provides insights into the clinical enigma of ER+ metastatic recurrences despite endocrine therapies.
Contributions of local tourism and regional air pollution to atmospheric aerosols in Jiuzhaigou,Sichuan,China

From April 2010 to April 2011,weekly to biweekly samples of total suspended particle(TSP) were collected at two sites in Jiuzhaigou National Nature Reserve(Jiuzhaigou hereafter).The site at the entrance was much more affected by local tourism(e.g.,tour bus),compared with the site at the Long Lake meteorological station.Ionic concentrations of the samples were measured.The results show that TSP,SO4 2-,Ca2+,K+,NH4 + and NO3- concentrations in air were significantly higher at the entrance than at the Long Lake meteorological station,while Na+,Mg2+ and Cl- concentrations were similar between the two sites,respectively.Pronounced seasonal variations in ionic concentrations were observed.Concentrations of TSP and most ions were lower during the peak season of tourism(from June to October),probably due to the higher cleaning effect of precipitation on air.In contrast,concentrations of TSP and most ions were higher during the other months,likely owing to low precipitation amount and the spring dust from northwestern China.Furthermore,the equivalent ratios of [SO4 2-]:[NO3-] were relatively high.All above suggest that atmospheric environment in Jiuzhaigou was considerably polluted by local tourist activities,regional combustion of coal and biomass,and spring dust transported from northwestern China.
Neutralization of organophosphate over highly dispersed Fe, Cu, and Co on silica

Abstract Organophosphates are highly toxic compounds used as pesticides and chemical warfare agents. Herein, we describe SiO2-supported Fe, Co, and Cu catalysts that degrade organophosphate pesticide malathion at mild temperatures in the presence of H2O2. These catalysts are prepared by impregnation of SiO2 with solutions of bulky metal chelates that promote dispersion and low coordination, as shown spectroscopically. Turnover frequencies of catalysts prepared from chelated precursors are higher than those of controls prepared from nitrates and oxides, and independent of metal loading. The latter indicates equal activity and accessibility of active sites and suggests invariant structure in the loading range studied.
Elections and Social Conflict in Africa, 1990–2009

Proponents of democratization often claim that liberal institutions have a palliative effect on the level of conflict within societies. Critics, however, suggest that the instruments of democracy, especially elections, can spark political violence, particularly in weakly institutionalized settings. Using the newly available Social Conflict in Africa Database (SCAD), we examine the relationship between executive elections and social conflict in Africa for the period 1990–2009. We also assess the conditions which make elections more or less violent. We examine elections in (1) countries faced with armed conflict, (2) post-conflict settings, (3) elections in autocracies, and (4) in relatively poor countries. We also look at characteristics of elections themselves, including the margin of victory, the presence of observers, and allegations of vote fraud. Results show that while elections can sometimes spark violence, free and fair elections in genuinely democratic contexts are much less conflict prone, while illiberal elections are especially problematic. We do not find that current or recent armed conflict on a country’s territory makes elections more violent.
Finite Element Modeling of Thermoelectrically Coupled Nanoantennas for Mid- to Far-Infrared Detection

Multiphysics simulations of thermoelectrically coupled nanoantennas (TECNAs) using COMSOL to design mid-to far infrared detectors for solar imaging is presented. The simulation of TECNAs includes electromagnetic wave propagation and the resulting heat transfer. We show the modeling environment, geometry, boundary conditions, and frequency response of nanoantennas, obtained by simulations, between 20 µm and 80 µm.
DQN-Based Edge Computing Node Deployment Algorithm in Power Distribution Internet of Things

In the environment of power distribution Internet of Things, the large network energy consumption and network traffic of edge computing nodes is an urgent problem to be solved. To solve this problem, this paper proposes a DQN-based edge computing node deployment algorithm in the power distribution Internet of Things. According to the business logic of the power distribution Internet of Things, a network model of the edge computing network architecture is proposed. The network model includes computing request nodes, network nodes, network links, and edge computing nodes. The energy consumption model and network traffic model are constructed, and the objective function is constructed with the goal of minimizing network traffic and network energy consumption under the premise of completing the calculation tasks of smart nodes. By defining the states, actions and rewards in DQN theory, a DQN algorithm is proposed to solve the optimal deployment strategy of edge computing nodes. In the experimental part, the performance of the algorithm is analyzed from the two dimensions of the network scale and the number of calculation requests, and it is verified that the algorithm in this paper can reduce network energy consumption and network traffic.
Dipolar and Exchange Coupling Between Carrier Pairs in Disordered Semiconductors Undergoing Resonance

The effect of dipolar and exchange interactions within pairs of paramagnetic states on spin-dependent transport and recombination rates during magnetic resonance is studied numerically using the superoperator/Liouville-space formalism. The simulations reveal that induced Rabi oscillations control transition rates that are observed experimentally by pulsed electrically (pEDMR) and pulsed optically (pODMR) detected magnetic resonance spectroscopies. When the dipolar coupling exceeds the difference of the pair partners’ Zeeman energies, several Rabi frequency components are observed, with the most pronounced at \(\sqrt{2}\gamma B_1\) (γ is the gyromagnetic ratio, B 1 is the excitation field). Exchange coupling does not significantly affect this nutation component; however, it does strongly influence a low-frequency component \((\,{<}\,\gamma B_1)\). Thus, pEDMR/pODMR allow the simultaneous identification of exchange and dipolar interaction strengths.
From Darkness to Light: Examining the Role of Playwright/Director on Obscura

FROM DARKNESS TO LIGHT: EXAMINING THE ROLE OF PLAYWRIGHT/DIRECTOR ON OBSCURA By Dennis Schebetta, M.F.A. A Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Fine Arts at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Commonwealth University, 2006 Major Director: Dr. Noreen C. Barnes Director of Graduate Studies, Department of Theatre School of the Arts The aim and scope of my thesis is to examine the process of playwrights directing their own work, using the production of my play Obscura as an example of personal research, as well as examples of other dramatists. I will examine the advantages and disadvantages that playwrights face when directing their own work. I will compare several methods to my own production of Obscura. I wrote the play in the Spring of 2005 which culminated in a reading in April, followed by a workshop production in the Fall of 2005 in the Newdick Theater at Shafer Street Playhouse.
Increased Managerial Discretion in Revenue Recognition and the Value Relevance of Earnings

Accounting Standards Update (ASU) 2009-13 and ASU 2009-14 were issued with the purpose of reporting revenues and earnings that more closely reflect the transfer of goods and services to customers. Although these standards allow managers greater discretion to accelerate the revenue recognition for multiple deliverable sales arrangements, we find no evidence that managers use this increased discretion to manage earnings or revenue to meet or just beat important benchmarks. Rather, we find that the increased discretion to accelerate revenue recognition afforded by ASU 2009-13 and 2009-14 results in higher quality accruals and increases the value relevance of earnings. These results should be of interest to researchers and other stakeholders interested in the impact of changes in accounting standards that allow managers more discretion and judgment in recognizing revenue. In addition, these results should be of interest to standard setters as they evaluate the potential impact of ASU 2014-09, which overhauls and converges U.S. and international revenue recognition standards and provides managers with greater discretion in revenue recognition.
Impact of Local Decision Rules in Distributed Sensor Networks

In this paper, we analyze the impact of the local decision rules on the performance of a distributed sensor network. We do this by fixing the fusion rule to be one of the three common binary decision rules: majority voting, AND and OR rules, and optimizing the local decision rules with respect to the probability of error at the fusion center. We assume that the sensor observations are correlated and we consider the general case of heterogeneous (non-identical) sensors. We show that systems having different fusion rules can all provide similar performance if the local decision rules are chosen appropriately.
Braids: A Survey

Publisher Summary Crossings are suggested as they are in a picture of a highway overpass on a map. The identity braid has a canonical representation in which two strands never cross. Multiplication of braids is by juxtaposition, concatenation, isotopy, and rescaling. This chapter discusses Artin's braid group, B n and its role in knot theory. The chapter illustrates ways in which structure first discovered in the braid groups generalizes to structure in Garside groups, Artin groups and surface mapping class groups. Artin's braid group is naturally isomorphic to the mapping class group of an n-times punctured disc. The chapter also illustrates the topological concept of a braid and of a group of braids via the notion of a configuration space. It then outlines the new developments in the area of B n mapping, thus illustrating how to pass from diffeomorphisms to geometric braids and back again..
Visualization for Periodic Population Movement between Distinct Localities

We present a new visualization method to summarize and present periodic population movement between distinct locations, such as floors, buildings, cities, or the like. In the specific case of this paper, we have chosen to focus on student movement between college dormitories on the Columbia University campus. The visual information is presented to the information analyst in the form of an interactive geographical map, in which specific temporal periods as well as individual buildings can be singled out for detailed data exploration. The navigational interface has been designed to specifically meet a geographical setting.
KINETICS OF SHORT-RANGE ORDERING IN METALLIC GLASSES : ANALYSIS OF THE CROSSOVER EFFECT

Model calculations were carried out for two different relaxation time spectra to simulate the relaxation curves that would be obtained for crossover experiments and other types of isothermal anneal sequences that give rise to inhomogeneous states of order. It is concluded that although the crossover effect clearly demonstrates the existence of more than a single relaxation process the response curve obtained in the crossover experiment tends to smear out the details of the relaxation time spectrum.
Covalent labeling of proteins and nucleic acids with fluorophores.

Publisher Summary This chapter discusses the methods of choosing fluorescent labels and using them to tag biological macromolecules. A number of factors influence the brightness of a fluorophore. The larger the extinction coefficient at the wavelength of excitation the higher the light gathering power of the fluorophores. The extinction coefficients and quantum yields of many fluorophores depend on the microenvironment. Contact among fluorescent tags on heavily labeled macromolecules generally leads to fluorescence quenching and often precipitation of the labeled antibody. If the detection instrument has a defined excitation light source, filter set, and detector, fluorophore selection may be limited but relatively straightforward. For example, instruments utilizing laser excitation usually offer only a few excitation wavelengths. This “systems approach” becomes more difficult if multiple fluorescent labels are to be used simultaneously for correlating a number of antigenic or genetic parameters within the sample. Generally, fluorescent labels that are excited and emit in the red region of the spectrum give better signal-to-noise ratios if the sample contains cellular materials that autofluoresce. Most cells fluoresce in the UV (NADH) and green (flavins and flavoproteins), but phagocytic cells and plant cells can fluoresce at longer wavelengths as well.
The Deconstruction and Reification of Law in Franz Kafka's 'Before the Law' and 'The Trial'

This article explores the philosophical nature of law as depicted by Kafka in his two most famous writings on the subject, "Before the Law," and "The Trial." The substantive portions of this article deal with postmodern and neo-Marxist accounts of Kafka's law, which are both rejected in favor of a synthesis of ideology culminating in law as the necessity of punishment. Although many articles have been written dealing with Kafka from a law and literature perspective, this is the only article I am aware of that deals with Kafka's law on its on terms, i.e., within the bounds of his writings, and interpreted in purely philosophical terms. In essence, this article attempts to establish a foundation for the legitimacy of studying Kafka from a legal, and not solely literary, perspective.
Feedback on Professional Skills as Enculturation into Communities of Practice

1 Background Professional skills are critical in engineering practice. Differing definitions and lack of empirical evidence make it difficult to help students develop these skills. 2 Purpose This research seeks to understand what it means to have professional skills in an industrially situated capstone project and, by extension, in engineering. We also aim to demonstrate the influence on those skills of the feedback provided to students. 3 Design/Method Our ethnographic study employs discourse analysis to focus on professional skills. Using the construct of communities of practice, we describe and analyze conversations between a coach and four student teams as the coach provided feedback, and conversations among students as they worked in teams. 4 Results Approximately half the discussion addressed the following professional skills: communication, documentation, teamwork, the economic impact of engineering solutions, and project management. Development of professional skills promotes students' enculturation into both a disciplinary community (chemical engineering) and an industrial community (semiconductor industry). Feedback on professional skills generally was given in the context of technical aspects, and we found an interplay between the teams' participation in professional skills activities and participation in more technical activities. 5 Conclusions Participation in engineering design projects provides students opportunities to practice both professional and technical skills. Feedback on professional skills helps students recognize how to simultaneously represent themselves as legitimate members of multiple communities of practice.
Tropical Cyclone Tornadoes: A Review of Knowledge in Research and Prediction

The scientific documentation and investigation of tropical cyclone (TC) tornadoes has spanned portions of ten decades, but has been missing a documentary overview of topical knowledge accumulated to any given point in that time span. This review article summarizes the evolution of TC tornado-related literature from the perspectives of crucial historic tornadoes, climatology, distribution patterns, applied research into their environments, remote and environmental observations, forecasting practices, and numerical simulations at various scales. Discussion of the future of TC tornado research and prediction includes several testable hypotheses, along with potentially beneficial tools soon to be available to operational forecasters.
Assessing the nation's diet: limitations of the food frequency questionnaire.

Assessment of the diet of the US population is important for nutrition monitoring and policy-making and for planning health promotion and disease prevention activities. Accurate information about food and nutrient intake is critical to monitoring the dietary and nutritional status of the general population and subgroups at nutritional risk. The selection and proper use of dietary methods to measure intake and the appropriate interpretation of dietary data are central to the assessment of the population's dietary intake
Predictive factors for relapse in patients on buprenorphine maintenance.

Background and Objectives Despite the dramatic increase in the use of buprenorphine for the treatment of opioid dependence, clinical outcomes of this treatment approach continue to need evaluation. This study examines factors associated with relapse and retention during buprenorphine treatment in a sample of opioid dependent outpatients. Methods In a retrospective chart review of 62 patients with opioid dependence, relapse was determined by self-report, urine toxicology screens, and by checking the state controlled substance monitoring database. Data was analyzed using two-way tests of association and logistic regression. Results Patients with comorbid anxiety disorders, active benzodiazepine use (contrary to clinic policy), or active alcohol abuse, were significantly more likely to relapse. Patients who relapsed were also more likely to be on a higher buprenorphine maintenance dose. Conclusion This study identifies relapse risk factors during buprenorphine treatment for opioid dependence. Future research is needed to determine whether modifying these factors may lead to improved treatment outcomes. (Am J Addict 2014;23:62–67)
Sea Surface Oil Slick Light Component Vaporization and Heavy Residue Sinking: Binary Mixture Theory and Experimental Proof of Concept

Abstract This is a first of its kind study demonstrating that oil weathering can result in its sinking. Although a controversial proposition, oil's appearance on the sea floor following the 2010 Macondo 252 spill in the Gulf of Mexico and its large unaccountable volume has raised awareness of possible alternative explanations. Drag-down by settling particles is one known process. Another possible cause is heavy residue sinking due to density increase that follows the evaporation of the light constituents from the mixture. The study outcome impacts the field of oil spill modeling because confirmed mechanism-based process algorithms are required in the oil fate models. Theoretical and experimental studies on the proof of concept for the evaporation/sinking [EVAPO-SINK] process were undertaken using binary chemical mixtures representing “model oils.” Laboratory macrocosm-scale experiments with surface spills were performed and a theoretical, binary-component mathematical model was developed. Direct visual ob...
Middle interhemispheric fusion: an unusual variant of holoprosencephaly.

PURPOSE To describe the imaging features of a brain anomaly found on studies of three patients, and to speculate on the embryologic basis leading to the development of this abnormality. PATIENTS AND METHODS Clinical records (three patients), MR scans (two patients), and CT scans (two patients) of three patients with fusion of the middle portions of the cerebral hemispheres in the presence of nearly normal anterior interhemispheric fissures were retrospectively reviewed. The results were correlated with the present theories of brain development in an attempt to classify the anomaly and define the underlying embryologic abnormalities. RESULTS All three patients with middle interhemispheric fusion were severely developmentally delayed. Associated anomalies were identified in all three and included neuronal migration anomalies, callosal dysgenesis, and hypoplasia of the anterior falx cerebri. Correlation of the imaging findings with theories of brain development lead to the suggestion that this anomaly is the result of deficient or dysplastic mesenchyme, which leads to disordered brain development. CONCLUSION Middle interhemispheric fusion may be considered as a variant of holoprosencephaly. It is suggested that the mesenchyme formed by the prechordal plate, notochord, and neural crest play an important part in the early development of the brain and that anomalies of the mesenchyme underlie this disorder as well as other forms of holoprosencephaly.
Risk Adjusting Survival Outcomes in Hospitals That Treat Patients With Cancer Without Information on Cancer Stage.

Importance Instituting widespread measurement of outcomes for cancer hospitals using administrative data is difficult owing to lack of cancer-specific information such as disease stage. Objective To evaluate the performance of hospitals that treat patients with cancer using Medicare data for outcome ascertainment and risk adjustment and to assess whether hospital rankings based on these measures are altered by the addition of cancer-specific information. Design, Setting, and Participants Risk-adjusted cumulative mortality rates of patients with cancer were captured in Medicare claims data from 2005 through 2009 nationally and assessed at the hospital level. Similar analyses were conducted using Surveillance, Epidemiology, and End Results (SEER)-Medicare data for the subset of the United States covered by the SEER program to determine whether the inclusion of cancer-specific information (only available in cancer registries) in risk adjustment altered measured hospital performance. Data were from 729 279 fee-for-service Medicare beneficiaries treated for cancer in 2006 at hospitals treating 10 or more patients with each of the following cancers, according to Medicare claims: lung, prostate, breast, colon, and other. An additional sample of 18 677 similar patients were included from the SEER-Medicare administrative data. Main Outcomes and Measures Risk-adjusted mortality overall and by cancer category, stratified by type of hospital; measures of correlation and agreement between hospital-level outcomes risk adjusted using Medicare data alone and Medicare data with SEER data. Results There were large survival differences between different types of hospitals that treat Medicare patients with cancer. At 1 year, mortality for patients treated by hospitals exempt from the Medicare prospective payment system was 10% lower than at community hospitals (18% vs 28%) across all cancers, and the pattern persisted through 5 years of follow-up and within specific cancer categories. Performance ranking of hospitals was consistent with or without SEER-Medicare disease stage information (weighted κ ≥ 0.81). Conclusions and Relevance Potentially important outcome differences exist between different types of hospitals that treat patients with cancer after risk adjustment using information in Medicare administrative data. This type of risk adjustment may be adequate for evaluating hospital performance, since the additional adjustment for data available only in cancer registries does not seem to appreciably alter measures of performance.
A Quantitative Assessment of the Effect of First Contract Arbitration on Bargaining Relationships

This article investigates first contract arbitration's (FCA) capacity to foster bargaining relationships and deter misconduct by analyzing its effect on decertifications. Using time-series cross-sectional (TSCS) analysis with data from nine Canadian provinces over a four-decade period, it shows: (1) FCA correlates with 20 to 37 percent fewer decertifications in provinces that have an FCA provision relative to those that do not; (2) of the various types of FCA, the automatic and fault forms have the most robust effect on decertifications while the mediation-arbitration form may have the largest effect on decertifications; and (3) the effect of FCA is heightened in the presence of card-check certification such that the best results for fostering bargaining relationships may be found in the presence of both policies
A convergent process of price adjustment and global newton methods

Section 1 One goal of this paper is to give a relation between such diverse parts of economic theory as the Arrow-Block-Hurwicz dynamics of price adjustment and Scarf’s algorithm for finding economic equilibria. The underlying concept is an ordinary differential equation, which we call a ‘Global Newton’ one, associated to a system of IZ real functions,f, , . . . ,f,, of n real variables, x1, . . . , x,. The key feature of this differential equation is that, under suitable hypotheses, its solution will tend to a vector (XT, . . . , AT,*) satisfying fi($, . . ., x,*) = 0, . . .,h(xT, . . .) x,*) = 0, (1) or in vector notation, f(x*) = 0. (1’) In fact in this way an algorithm for solving (1) is provided. The differential equation itself has the form
Awareness of publication guidelines and the responsible conduct of research

We have conducted a longitudinal survey of NIH-funded F32 postdoctoral fellows to determine if mandated instruction in the responsible conduct of research (RCR) has measurable effects on awareness of, attentiveness to, and behavioral judgments about research ethics and authorship and publication. Of 418 F32 fellows participating in the study, 50% were aware of and had referred to guidelines on authorship and publication practices while 50% were either unaware of or had not referred to guidelines. Groups were similar with regard to total number of peer-reviewed publications and total number of first author publications, years of research experience, years since completing their doctoral degree, and receipt of RCR training. The equal distribution of guideline awareness and use, and group similarities with regard to career development and achievement provided us with an opportunity to consider whether awareness of and use of guidelines is associated with broader judgments about author roles and responsibilities. The findings suggest that awareness and utilization of guidelines are, at best, only modestly associated with more ethically appropriate judgments and attitudes about author roles and responsibilities among novice F32's.
Research to classroom: experiences from a multi-institutional course in smart home technologies

Bringing the excitement and challenges of active research into the classroom offers unique learning experiences. This is particularly true for undergraduate students not otherwise exposed to the processes, methods, and results of research. Designing and delivering such a course, however, presents many challenges. In this article, we describe our recent experience co-teaching a multi-institutional course in smart home technologies. From our experience and analysis of student evaluations, we offer a number of lessons learned and recommendations.
Thermodynamics of dissolution of ferrocene in n-octane, methanol, and acetonitrile

Abstract The solubility of ferrocene in n-octane, methanol, and acetonitrile has been determined as a function of temperature in the range 0–30 °C using a spectrophotometric technique. From the variation in solubility with temperature, the enthalpies of solution of ferrocene in these solvents were found to be 4.68 ± 0.28, 4.19 ± 0.25, and 5.82 ± 0.35 kcal mol−1 (19.6 ± 1.2 kJ mol−1, 17.5 ± 1.0 kJ mol−1, and 24.4 ± 1.5 kJ mol−1) for n-octane, methanol, and acetonitrile, respectively. Using these values, the entropy and free energy of dissolution of ferrocene were found to be as follows: n-octane, 51.3 ± 3.1 J mol−1 K−1 and 4.28 ± 0.26 kJ mol−1; methanol, 38.1 ± 2.3 J mol−1 K−1 and 6.17 ± 0.37 kJ mol−1; and acetonitrile, 66.4 ± 4.0 J mol−1 K−1 and 4.58 ± 0.27 kJ mol−1. The results are discussed in terms of the nature of the solute–solvent interactions.
Teaching personal knowledge as a way of knowing self in therapeutic relationship

Abstract Personal knowledge is conceptualized as a fundamental pattern of knowing in nursing and a precondition for establishing therapeutic relationships. Personal knowledge is essential for learning the artful use of self in therapeutic relationship. However, personal knowledge is difficult to teach. This article demonstrates ways an undergraduate class project is used to teach personal knowledge. Results from the Keirsey Temperament Sorter are used to explore students' understandings of their temperament preferences and behaviors. Students' preferences in communication and interaction styles are compared with literature reports describing Generation Xers (birth year 1961-1981) and Millennials (born after 1981). Implications for teaching the youngest generation of students are addressed. It is proposed that teaching personal knowledge as a journey in knowing self in the therapeutic nurse-patient relationship helps students appreciate the power of therapeutic relationships to affect health. Students' knowledge about themselves, when taught with other patterns of knowing, demonstrates relationship-focused encounters, which is at the heart of therapeutic relationship.
Magnetic monopoles: No longer on thin ice

Magnetic monopoles are sources or sinks of magnetic field that have been detected experimentally but remain abstract. Thanks to an artificial lattice of magnetic nanowires, it is now possible to observe monopoles and watch them move.
Ozone Oxidation of Single Walled Carbon Nanotubes from Density Functional Theory

Ozone is known to react with single-walled nanotubes (SWNTs) to form oxide species on the nanotubes and, upon annealing, to etch the SWNTs. However, the mechanism of ozone attack is not known. We use gradient-corrected density functional theory to compute the potential energy surfaces for O3 dissociation on the sidewall of a pristine (8,8) SWNT. Two decomposition pathways were considered; the first involves the formation of a Criegee intermediate, with a barrier of 17 kcal/mol, followed by transformations leading to lactone, quinone, and carbonyl functional groups. The activation barriers for these transformations are below 23 kcal/mol. The cleavage of the lactone group, evolving CO and CO2, have barrier heights of 39.4 and 49.3 kcal/mol, respectively. This agrees well with experimental findings that the evolution of CO2 and CO occur at 600 K. The second decomposition pathway involves the direct cleavage of the ozonide, forming a singlet O2 and an ether or epoxide group on the SWNT. This pathway competes ...
The origin of a binary-search paradigm

Abstract In a binary-search algorithm for the computation of a numerical function, the interval in which the desired output is sought is divided in half at each iteration. The paper considers how such algorithms might be derived from their specifications by an automatic system for program synthesis. The derivation of the binary-search concept has been found to be surprisingly straight-forward. The programs obtained, though reasonably simple and efficient, are quite different from those that would have been constructed by informal means.
Optimum m -step SSOR preconditioning

Abstract This paper shows that if A is a symmetric positive definite matrix in red-black form, then the optimum relaxation factor for SSOR preconditioning of the conjugate gradient method is unity. This is true for any number of preconditioning steps.
ConvexLAR: An Extension of Least Angle Regression

The least angle regression (LAR) was proposed by Efron, Hastie, Johnstone and Tibshirani in the year 2004 for continuous model selection in linear regression. It is motivated by a geometric argument and tracks a path along which the predictors enter successively and the active predictors always maintain the same absolute correlation (angle) with the residual vector. Although it gains popularity quickly, its extensions seem rare compared to the penalty methods. In this expository article, we show that the powerful geometric idea of LAR can be generalized in a fruitful way. We propose a ConvexLAR algorithm that works for any convex loss function and naturally extends to group selection and data adaptive variable selection. After simple modification, it also yields new exact path algorithms for certain penalty methods such as a convex loss function with lasso or group lasso penalty. Variable selection in recurrent event and panel count data analysis, Ada-Boost, and Gaussian graphical model is reconsidered fr...
Subcutaneous pancreatic islet transplantation using fibrin glue as a carrier.

Background Pancreatic islet grafts are difficult to manipulate and implant in the recipient site mainly because they are formed by a group of cells suspended in a solution. This physical property determines various characteristics that are unique for pancreatic islet transplantation. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the role of fibrin glue as a delivery method for islet transplantation.
Physical and Hydraulic Properties of Rootzone Mixes Amended with Inorganics for Golf Putting Greens

amendments used in putting green construction (Waddington, 1992). The benefits of peat include reduced A trend to replace peat with inorganic amendments such as calcined soil bulk density, improved rootzone aeration, increased clay (CC) and diatomaceous earth (DE) is occurring for athletic fields soil moisture retention, gradual release of plant-availand golf course putting greens. For laboratory experiments, washed rootzone sand was amended at 15% (v/v) with either Canadian sphag- able water, and improved turfgrass germination (Letey num peat (CSP), CC, or DE. Amendments reduced the bulk density et al., 1966; McCoy, 1992; Juncker and Madison, 1967; and increased the total porosity of all mixtures. The DE mixture had Bigelow et al., 1999). Because peat is an organic material the lowest Ksat (41.9 cm h 1 ), which was attributed to the 2% by weight and subject to natural decomposition, it may eventually of particles 0.05 mm in diameter. The inorganic mixtures retained lose its desirable characteristics (Huang and Petrovic, 0.021 to 0.084 cm 3 cm 3 less water than the CSP mixture at pressures 1995). Also, because peat is a naturally occurring reless than 2.5 kPa. The CSP mixture held significantly more water in source, the supply is limited. Therefore, the amendment the entire profile and in the upper 15 cm compared with the inorganic of putting green rootzones with a possible peat replacemixtures and straight sand. Approximately 75% of the total water ment material that will retain its physical properties for was lost within the first 15 min after drainage initiation for sand alone and the inorganic mixtures; only 65% was lost in the first 15 min for many years is desired. Inorganic soil amendments such the CSP mixture. After 24 h of free drainage, the CC mixture lost the as calcined clay (CC) and diatomaceous earth (DE) most water, while the DE mixture lost the least. Differences among have been identified as possible substitutes for peat in the rootzone mixtures were measured in the first 3 min of drainage, high sand content rootzones. with straight sand and the CC mixture having the greatest flow rate Positive characteristics of inorganic amendments incompared with DE and CSP mixtures. After 24 h of free drainage, clude resistance to degradation (4 and 9.5%, respecthe gravel layer remained saturated. For improved water retention tively, using impact/abrasion tests) and low bulk densiin the rootzone, CSP remains the preferable amendment to sand when ties (0.56–0.64 g cm 3 and 0.39–0.59 g cm 3 respectively) mixed at these ratios.