cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Strain Hardening of Polyethylene/Polypropylene Blends via Interfacial Reinforcement with Poly(ethylene-cb-propylene) Comb Block Copolymers

A poly(ethylene-cb-propylene) comb block copolymer (P(E-cb-P)), prepared by copolymerization of vinyl-terminated atactic polypropylene and ethylene, was used to compatibilize immiscible blends of high-density polyethylene (HDPE) and isotactic polypropylene (iPP). Addition of 5 wt % P(E-cb-P) resulted in 5-fold microdomain size reductions and the concomitant increase in the elastic modulus, as typically observed in immiscible blends compatibilized with linear block copolymers. We report an unexpected phenomenon, namely, the development of extensional flow hardening by the addition of P(E-cb-P) to the HDPE/iPP blends. This unprecedented effect is stronger in blends with cocontinuous morphology (50/50 HDPE/iPP) than in blends with matrix-droplet morphology (75/25 or 25/75 HDPE/iPP). We postulate that the melt strength enhancement and extensional strain hardening observed in the compatibilized blends may arise from the interfacial stiffening as a result of the interfacial stitching by the P(E-cb-P) comb block...
Stimulated Raman scattering (SRS) spectroscopic OCT (Conference Presentation)

Optical coherence tomography (OCT) enables non-invasive, high-resolution, tomographic imaging of biological tissues by leveraging principles of low coherence interferometry; however, OCT lacks molecular specificity. Spectroscopic OCT (SOCT) overcomes this limitation by providing depth-resolved spectroscopic signatures of chromophores, but SOCT has been limited to a couple of endogenous molecules, namely hemoglobin and melanin. Stimulated Raman scattering, on the other hand, can provide highly specific molecular information of many endogenous species, but lacks the spatial and spectral multiplexing capabilities of SOCT. In this work we integrate the two methods, SRS and SOCT, to enable simultaneously multiplexed spatial and spectral imaging with sensitivity to many endogenous biochemical species that play an important role in biology and medicine. The method, termed SRS-SOCT, has the potential to achieve fast, volumetric, and highly sensitive label-free molecular imaging, which would be valuable for many applications. We demonstrate the approach by imaging excised human adipose tissue and detecting the lipids’ Raman signatures in the high-wavenumber region. Details of this method along with validations and results will be presented.
Raising the bar: the future of EGFR inhibition in non-small lung cancer.

The identification of oncogenic activating mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor ( EGFR ) and subsequent development of targeted therapies for this subset of nonsmall cell lung cancer (NSCLC) represents a paradigm shift in solid tumor oncology. If the development and clinical validation of imatinib in chronic myeloid leukemia (CML) cracked open the door of the precision medicine era, then the first-generation EGFR inhibitors swung it wide open.
The effect of socioeconomic status, race, and insurance type on newly diagnosed metastatic prostate cancer in the United States (2004-2013).

Abstract Background Understanding the characteristics of men who initially present with metastatic prostate cancer (mPCa) can better enable directed improvement initiatives. The objective of this study was to assess the relationship between socioeconomic status (SES) and newly diagnosed mPCa. Materials Methods All men diagnosed with PCa in the National Cancer Data Base from 2004 to 2013 were identified. Characteristics of men presenting with and without metastatic disease were compared. A 4-level composite metric of SES was created using Census-based income and education data. Multivariable logistic regression was used to evaluate the association between SES, race/ethnicity, and insurance and the risk of presenting with mPCa at the time of diagnosis. Results Of 1,034,754 patients diagnosed with PCa, 4% had mPCa at initial presentation. Lower SES (first vs. fourth quartile; odds ratio [OR] = 1.39, 95% CI: 1.35–1.44), black and Hispanic race/ethnicity (vs. white; OR = 1.47, 95% CI: 1.43–1.51 and OR = 1.22, 95% CI: 1.17–1.28, respectively), and having Medicaid or no insurance (vs. Medicare or private; OR = 3.91, 95% CI: 3.78–4.05) were each independently associated with higher odds of presenting with mPCa after adjusting for all other covariates. Conclusions Lower SES, race/ethnicity, and having Medicaid or no insurance were each independently associated with higher odds of presenting with metastases at the time of PCa diagnosis. Our findings may partially explain current PCa outcomes disparities and inform future efforts to reduce disparities.
Using Online Metadata to Enhance Religious Video Search

Online videos are on the path to become the future of content marketing. Many church organizations have produced online videos, hosting them on their domains as well as on YouTube, as a communication media for establishing public relations. Searching these online religious videos, however, tends to be challenging due to their inadequate retrieval and ranking strategies and the lack of textual description toward videos. These shortcomings apply to the religious and YouTube search engines, which rely on user-provided keywords to search online videos. Moreover, ranking of these online videos appears to be arbitrary and at time the retrieved videos do not seem to have any bearing to the original query compared with its thumbnails, titles, and categorization. We propose to develop a new search and ranking engine, called VSeek, to circumvent the problem by tapping into the online community through the use of the social media data of videos, which include their title, tags, description, comments, view count, and like/dislike count. The performance evaluation clearly demonstrates the effectiveness of VSeek, and its recommended videos were preferred over videos suggestions by YouTube and MormonChannel.org.
Cross-Cultural Differences in the Experience of Grandparent-Grandchild Relationships and Related Psychosocial Outcomes.

This study examined grandchildren’s perceptions of the quality of their relationship with their grandmothers and how these perceptions relate to psychosocial outcomes. Eighty-two youth from Mexico ...
Reference-Dependent Preferences

Abstract In this chapter, we present theories and applications of reference-dependent preferences. We provide some historical perspective, but also move quickly to the current research frontier, focusing on developments in reference dependence over the last 20 years. We present a number of worked examples to highlight the broad applicability of reference dependence. While our primary focus is gain–loss utility, we also provide a short treatment of probability weighting and its links to reference dependence.
Software Development and Reliability

The current systems reliability assessment demands inclusion of their application software modules, Computer Software Units CSUs, or Computer Software Configuration Item, CSCIs.
Sequential administration of DNA methyltransferase inhibitors (DNMTi) and histone deacetylase inhibitors (HDACi) induces apoptosis with caspase and reactive oxygen species (ROS)-dependent synergy

1036 Sequential treatment with DNMTi and HDACi synergize to promote re-expression of transcriptionally silenced genes whose promoters are methylated. This observation has served as a model for several early phase clinical trials in patients with myeloid malignancies and other cancers. Since mechanisms other than gene re-expression may be involved in mediating the clinical efficacy of these drugs, we investigated the effect of sequential treatment of DNMTi and HDACi on apoptosis induction in leukemia cells. Pretreatment of ML-1 or HL-60 with decitabine (DNMTi) for 48 h followed by a variety of HDACi (MS-275, trichostatin A, phenylbutyrate sodium or valproic acid) for 24 h synergistically induced apoptosis (median-effect analysis). Sequential treatment with decitabine followed by HDACi synergistically induced p21WAF1 expression in ML-1 but not HL-60 cells, indicating that p21WAF1 upregulation is not essential for apoptotic synergy. ROS can induce apoptosis in caspase-dependent and independent manners. Sequential administration of decitabine and HDACi led to synergistic generation of ROS. Inhibition of ROS by N-acetyl-L-cysteine (NAC) completely abrogated apoptosis. The pan-caspase inhibitor Z-VAD-FMK also completely inhibited apoptosis after sequential administration of decitabine and HDACi. These data suggest that ROS-induced apoptosis requires caspase activation. While sequential administration of DNMTi and HDACi synergize for both re-expression of methylated genes and apoptosis, a possible relationship between these two molecular synergies requires further investigation.
Doppler Radar Observations of Horizontal Shearing Instability in Quasi-Linear Convective Systems

AbstractDual-Doppler radar observations of two cold-season, wave-propagating quasi-linear convective systems (QLCS), which evolved in high-shear, low-CAPE (HSLC) environments, are analyzed to deter...
Who is treating venous disease in America today

Abstract Objective This study examined the specialty, board certification, and training of physicians who are treating venous disease in the United States. Methods Internet searches were performed to identify the websites of physicians who treat venous disease in large metropolitan areas. The websites of large multistate venous corporations were also searched. The American Board of Venous and Lymphatic Medicine (ABVLM) website was also used to identify venous providers. These providers were then searched for in the American Board of Medical Specialties website. The data were then analyzed statistically. Results Physicians treating venous disease were certified in a large variety of medical, surgical, and radiologic specialties; 17.6% of providers did not have an active certification. For the South, Northeast, and Mid-West regions, physicians without an active board certification were more common than any other specialty. Vascular surgery was the most common specialty in the Western region. Providers employed by large multistate venous corporations compared with the remainder of the study sample were less likely to have an active primary certification (72.0% vs 87.4%; P = .001), to have received formal endovascular training (22.4% vs 36.0%; P = .013), or to maintain an active certificate in vascular surgery (6.5% vs 22.1%; P Conclusions There are a large number of physicians treating venous disease who do not have an active board certification. This was more common for physicians employed by a large multistate venous corporation. Physicians employed by a corporation were more likely to advertise a board certification from the ABVLM.
Origins and organization of the NHLBI State of the Science Workshop: Generating a national blueprint for future research on factor VIII inhibitors

INTRODUCTION The major complication of protein replacement therapy for haemophilia A is the development of anti-FVIII antibodies or inhibitors that occur in 25%-30% of persons with severe haemophilia A. Alternative therapeutics such as bypassing agents or immune tolerance induction protocols have additional challenges and are not always effective. AIM Assemble a National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute (NHLBI) State of the Science (SOS) Workshop to generate a national blueprint for research on inhibitors to solve the problem of FVIII immunogenicity. METHODS An Executive Steering Committee was formed in October 2017 to establish the scientific focus and Scientific Working Groups for the SOS Workshop in May 2018. Four working groups were assembled to address scientific priorities in basic, translational and clinical research on inhibitors. RESULTS Working Group 1 was charged with determining the scientific priorities for clinical trials to include the integration of non-intravenous, non-factor therapeutics including gene therapy into the standard of care for people with haemophilia A with inhibitors. Working Group 2 established the scientific priorities for 21st-century data science and biospecimen collection for observational inhibitor cohort studies. The scientific priorities for acquiring an actionable understanding of FVIII immunogenicity and the immunology of the host response and FVIII tolerance were developed by Working Group 3. Working Group 4 designed prospective pregnancy/birth cohorts to study FVIII immunogenicity, inhibitor development and eradication. CONCLUSION The NHLBI SOS Workshop generated a focused summary of scientific priorities and implementation strategies to overcome the challenges of eradicating and preventing inhibitors in haemophilia A.
Phase-sensitive optomechanical amplifier for quantum noise reduction in laser interferometers

The sensitivity of future gravitational wave interferometers is expected to be limited throughout the detection band by quantum vacuum fluctuations, which can be reduced by applying quantum optics techniques such as squeezed vacuum injection. However, decoherence caused by optical losses in the readout chain will severely limit the effectiveness of such schemes. It was proposed that effect of losses in the final stage of detection can be mitigated by a phase-sensitive amplifier placed in between the output port of the interferometer and the photodetector. In this paper we propose to implement such amplification using an optomechanical device, study some of its practical limitations, and discuss its applicability to next-generation gravitational-wave detectors.
Dermal Substitutes and Negative-Pressure Wound Therapy for Burns and Scars

After a half-century of research and clinical practice, dermal substitutes and negative-pressure wound therapy (NPWT) have found their place in the reconstructive ladder. Dermal substitutes, such as AlloDerm and Integra, were originally developed to be a lifesaving product for large burns. They have since been applied to a myriad of other clinical applications, including acute burns of all sizes, hypertrophic scar and keloids, traumatic wounds with exposed bone and tendon, and oncologic soft tissue defects. Early studies found that NPWT accelerated the engraftment of dermal substitutes, and so these two technologies have been used synergistically for over a decade. This chapter provides a historical overview of dermal substitutes and NPWT, describes how dermal substitutes can lead to the formation of a neodermis, and explores some of the many clinical applications. The two-stage surgical technique for skin reconstruction, using Integra, NPWT, and delayed split-thickness skin graft, is also described.
A phase 1 antigen dose escalation trial to evaluate safety, tolerability and immunogenicity of the leprosy vaccine candidate LepVax (LEP-F1 + GLA-SE) in healthy adults.

Healthy United States-based adult volunteers with no history of travel to leprosy-endemic countries were enrolled for the first-in-human evaluation of LepVax (LEP-F1 + GLA-SE). In total 24 volunteers participated in an open-labelclinicaltrial, with 21 receiving three injections of LepVax consisting of either 2 µg or 10 µg recombinantpolyprotein LEP-F1 mixed with 5 µg of the GLA-SE adjuvant formulation. LepVax doses were provided by intramuscular injection on Days 0, 28, and 56, and safety was evaluated for one year following the final injection. LepVaxwas safe and well tolerated at both antigen doses. Immunological analyses indicated that similar LEP-F1-specific antibody and Th1 cytokine secretion (IFN-γ, IL-2, TNF) were induced by each of the antigen doses evaluated within LepVax. This clinicaltrialof the first definedvaccinecandidate for leprosy demonstrates that LepVax is safe and immunogenic in healthy subjects and supports its advancement to testing in leprosy-endemic regions.
Both sides now: losses and gains of mutant CALR.

In this issue of Blood, Di Buduo et al report on the consequences of loss of the interaction between mutant calreticulin (CALR) and endoplasmic reticulum (ER) resident protein 57 (ERp57) as it pertains to altered calcium signaling in myeloproliferative neoplasms (MPNs).
Glyphosate inhibits melanization and increases insect susceptibility to infection

SUMMARY Melanin is a black-brown pigment found throughout all kingdoms of life playing diverse roles including: UV protection, thermoregulation, oxidant scavenging, arthropod immunity, and microbial virulence. Given melanin’s broad functions in the biosphere, particularly in insect immune defenses, it is important to understand how environmental conditions affect melanization. Glyphosate, the most widely used herbicide, inhibits melanin production. Here we elucidate the mechanism underlying glyphosate’s inhibition of melanization demonstrate the herbicide’s multifactorial effects on insects. Glyphosate acts as an antioxidant and disrupts the oxidation-reduction balance of melanization. The drug reduced wax moth larvae survival after infection, increased parasite burden in malaria-transmitting mosquitoes, and altered midgut microbiome composition in adult mosquitoes. These findings suggest that glyphosate’s environmental accumulation could contribute to the so called insect apocalypse, characterized by species declines, by rendering them more susceptible to microbial pathogens due to melanization inhibition, immune impairment, and perturbations in microbiota composition.
The impact of chronic steroid use on early postoperative complications in shoulder surgery.

Chronic steroid use has been associated with poor healing and worse long-term outcomes in patients undergoing orthopedic surgery, but the specific risk profile and short-term complications related ...
ESG Risk Depends on Management Control Quality

Interest from investors in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data has grown in part because of a string of corporate mis-steps associated with social and environmental impacts that have resulted in substantial losses for investors. These mis-steps clearly demonstrate that our current methods to measure ESG performance fail to capture the nature of many risks faced by companies. Nor do they gauge corporate resilience and the capacity of companies to mitigate the financial impacts of ESG-related risks. This chapter argues that investors need better corporate governance metrics that capture these sorts of environmental and social management challenges and signal how these issues will be internalized within the finances of a company. It further proposes a set of more granular metrics that look specifically at the ability of a company to mitigate environmental and social risk through more robust governance structures and management controls. Understanding whether governance systems are in place and positioned to identify and mitigate environmental and social risks (GES) will be important for investors seeking to avoid the next corporate mis-step and investing for long-term financial value.
WorkflowHub: Community Framework for Enabling Scientific Workflow Research and Development

Scientific workflows are a cornerstone of modern scientific computing. They are used to describe complex computational applications that require efficient and robust management of large volumes of data, which are typically stored/processed on heterogeneous, distributed resources. The workflow research and development community has employed a number of methods for the quantitative evaluation of existing and novel workflow algorithms and systems. In particular, a common approach is to simulate workflow executions. In previous work, we have presented a collection of tools that have been used for aiding research and development activities in the Pegasus project, and that have been adopted by others for conducting workflow research. Despite their popularity, there are several shortcomings that prevent easy adoption, maintenance, and consistency with the evolving structures and computational requirements of production workflows. In this work, we present WorkflowHub, a community framework that provides a collection of tools for analyzing workflow execution traces, producing realistic synthetic workflow traces, and simulating workflow executions. We demonstrate the realism of the generated synthetic traces by comparing simulated executions of these traces with actual workflow executions. We also contrast these results with those obtained when using the previously available collection of tools. We find that our framework not only can be used to generate representative synthetic workflow traces (i.e., with workflow structures and task characteristics distributions that resemble those in traces obtained from real-world workflow executions), but can also generate representative workflow traces at larger scales than that of available workflow traces.
The Rheology of the Carotid Sinus: A Path Toward Bioinspired Intervention

The association between blood viscosity and pathological conditions involving a number of organ systems is well known. However, how the body measures and maintains appropriate blood viscosity is not well-described. The literature endorsing the function of the carotid sinus as a site of baroreception can be traced back to some of the earliest descriptions of digital pressure on the neck producing a drop in blood delivery to the brain. For the last 30 years, improved computational fluid dynamic (CFD) simulations of blood flow within the carotid sinus have demonstrated a more nuanced understanding of the changes in the region as it relates to changes in conventional metrics of cardiovascular function, including blood pressure. We suggest that the unique flow patterns within the carotid sinus may make it an ideal site to transduce flow data that can, in turn, enable real-time measurement of blood viscosity. The recent characterization of the PIEZO receptor family in the sinus vessel wall may provide a biological basis for this characterization. When coupled with other biomarkers of cardiovascular performance and descriptions of the blood rheology unique to the sinus region, this represents a novel venue for bioinspired design that may enable end-users to manipulate and optimize blood flow.
Observations of modal coupling due to bolted joints in an experimental benchmark structure

Abstract The goal of this paper is to present a set of measurements from a benchmark structure containing two bolted joints to support future efforts to predict the damping due to the joints and to model nonlinear coupling between the first two elastic modes. Bolted joints introduce nonlinearities in structures, typically causing a softening in the natural frequency and an increase in damping because of frictional slip between the contact interfaces within the joint. These nonlinearities pose significant challenges when characterizing the response of the structure under a large range of load amplitudes, especially when the modal responses become coupled, causing the effective damping and natural frequency to not only depend on the excitation amplitude of the targeted mode, but also the relative amplitudes of other modes. In this work, two nominally identical benchmark structures, known in some prior works as the S4 beam, are tested to characterize their nonlinear properties for the first two elastic modes. Detailed surface measurements are presented and validated through finite element analysis and reveal distinct contact interactions between the two sets of beams. The free-free test structures are excited with an impact hammer and the transient response is analyzed to extract the damping and frequency backbone curves. A range of impact amplitudes and drive points are used to isolate a single mode or to excite both modes simultaneously. Differences in the nonlinear response correlate with the relative strength of the modes that are excited, allowing one to characterize mode coupling. Each of the beams shows different nonlinear properties for each mode, which is attributed to the different contact pressure distributions between the parts, although the mode coupling relationship is found to be consistent between the two. The test data key finding are presented in this paper and the supporting data is available on a public repository for interested researchers.
Breast Cancer in Women Over 65 years- a Review of Screening and Treatment Options.

Breast cancer is becoming increasingly prevalent in the women greater than 65 years of age. Most tumors are hormone receptor-positive in this group. Breast cancer screening recommendations for older women should be tailored based on life expectancy. Early stage breast cancer should be treated with conservative surgery followed by adjuvant endocrine therapy in HR+ patients. Primary endocrine therapy is a low-risk option for those with limited life expectancy. Adjuvant radiation therapy can be avoided in early stage, low-risk cancers. Evaluation should include comprehensive geriatric assessment. Treatment with less cytotoxic chemotherapy, HER-2 targeted therapies, and other biomarker-driven, molecularly targeted therapies should be sought whenever possible.
N-halamine-decorated electrospun polyacrylonitrile nanofibrous membranes: characterization and antimicrobial properties

Abstract Microbial contamination of drinking water and air is an alarming phenomenon that has attracted increasing global attention. Although many advances in microbial disinfection have been made over the years, robust, rapid, inexpensive and field-deployable strategies are still urgently needed to address this public health issue. Herein we report the preparation of antimicrobial nanofibrous membranes, which involves incorporation of highly porous electrospun polyacrylonitrile (PAN) membranes with 1-chloro-2,2,5,5-tetramethyl-4-imidazolidinone (MC) by two different approaches, namely, blend electrospinning and soaking. The functionalized membranes were characterized using scanning electron microscopy, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy, and titrimetry, and their antimicrobial efficacies were evaluated against two bacteria (Klebsiella pneumoniae and Escherichia coli). The MC-decorated electrospun PAN membranes inactivated both bacterial strains within 2 min of contact time. Moreover, the MC-soaked PAN membrane showed excellent disinfection efficacy against aerosolized E. coli after an exposure of 30 min. The simplicity, cost-effectiveness, versatility, and scalability of the electrospinning process, together with the superior antimicrobial activity of N-halamines make it a promising solution for water disinfection, and for the inactivation of airborne microorganisms.
The geometry tutor

The tutor for doing proofs in high school geometry consists of a cot of ideal and buggy rules (IRR), a tutor, and an interface. The IBR is responsible for ehiuertly computing matcher, to all the correct and incorrect rules The interface is responsible for interacting with the student and graphically representing the proof. The tutor is responsible for directing the IBR and interface to achieve a current tutorial strategy. The strategy wo employ involves tracing the student's behavior in terms of what rules in the IBR it instantiates, correcting the student when behavior deviates below a minimum threshold, and helping the student over hurdles. While incomplete, current evidence indicates the geometry tutor is guite effective. The Advanced Computer Tutoring Project has been working on the development of intelligent computerhased tutors for mathematics and science subjects in the range of senior high-school to junior college. This paper describes the general framework that we have developed and its instantiation in the case of a tutor tor generating proofs in geometry. First, we will describe the general philosophy of out tutoring efforts. Second, we will describe the basic structure of the geometry tutor that we have built. Third, we will describe the ongoing efforts to evaluate the tutor.
Nature of the Cosubstrate Action of Na+ and Neutral Amino Acids in a Transport System

Abstract We have studied in the rabbit reticulocyte and the pigeon erythrocyte the interactions between Na+ and various neutral amino acids with respect to transport by an apparently ubiquitous Na+-dependent system that prefers the linear aliphatic and hydroxy aliphatic amino acids. In the series, alanine to norleucine, stronger and stronger apolar bonding to the transport site with increasing chain length is suggested. The interaction with Na+ is in contrast strong when the side chain is a methyl group, and weaker when it exceeds the length of the ethyl group. Other alkali metals will generally not serve. Instead they inhibit in competition with Na+. A hydroxyl group on carbon 3 or 4 of the amino acid leads to an even stronger interaction with Na+, but its effect becomes unfavorable if it is farther removed from the carboxyl group. Mercapto and carboxamide groups produce similar effects. If the orientation of the hydroxyl group is trans with reference to the carboxylate group, a strong transport-producing interaction results; a cis orientation instead lowers the apparent affinity. On the basis of this and other evidence, we suggest that the two cosubstrates bind in juxtaposition at the receptor site, and that a substantial portion of the observed interaction occurs directly between them. This research provides the first evidence for the location of Na+ binding in a transport system specific for Na+ and a neutral substrate. The kinetics of this two-substrate system appears to be random order, with a different step rate-limiting for transport of Na+ than of the amino acid.
Padua and English students revisited

This essay revisits the subject of my 1998 book, Padua and the Tudors: English Students in Italy, 1485–1603, and attempts to re-evaluate it in the context of recent developments in the field. Partly through new research it confirms the extent and importance of English student mobility in the sixteenth century, and it addresses the question of what this mobility can tell us about England's relationship with continental Europe, a theme which in recent years has undergone reassessment. The essay moves on to consider the ars apodemica and informal educational travel as areas of significance, albeit they were neglected or somewhat played down in Padua and the Tudors. I propose once more the significance of the student universities at Padua as training grounds for civic participation.
A new twist on RNA helicases: DExH/D box proteins as RNPases

DExH/D box proteins are required for the major transactions of RNA, including mRNA synthesis, pre-mRNA splicing, ribosome biogenesis, translation and RNA decay. In the popular imagination, DExH/D box proteins have become synonymous with 'RNA helicases', which are enzymes that unwind duplex RNAs in concert with the hydrolysis of nucleoside triphosphates (NTPs). But all DExH/D box proteins may not be RNA helicases and the energy of NTP hydrolysis by DExH/D box proteins may be harnessed for other purposes. Cellular RNAs are associated with proteins, often in large ribonucleoprotein (RNP) complexes. This review focuses on recent progress suggesting a role for DExH/D box proteins as 'RNPases' that use chemical energy to remodel the interactions of RNA and proteins.
Using frequency-domain methods to identify XV-15 aeroelastic modes

The XV-15 Tilt-Rotor wing has six major aeroelastic modes that are close in frequency. To precisely excite individual modes during flight test, dual flaperon exciters with automatic frequency-sweep controls were installed. The resulting structural data were analyzed in the frequency domain (Fourier transformed) with cross spectral and transfer function methods. Modal frequencies and damping were determined by performing curve fits to transfer function magnitude and phase data and to cross spectral magnitude data. Results are given for the XV-15 with its original metal rotor blades. Frequency and damping values are also compared with earlier predictions.
The Significance of Brokeback Mountain

This essay explores the impact on American culture and the politics of same sex relationships of the 2005 film Brokeback Mountain. The author proposes that in coming to know the pain of the closeted gay characters in this film, the audience engages in an empathic experience with the potential to transform stereotyped attitudes about homosexuality.
Perturbed calcium homeostasis in neurodegenerative disorders

Publisher Summary Perturbed neuronal calcium homeostasis occurs in many different neurodegenerative disorders. The causes of the perturbed calcium homeostasis include increased levels of oxidative and metabolic stress, and mutations affecting proteins that modulate specific aspects of cellular calcium homeostasis. Over activation of glutamate receptors under conditions of increased oxidative and metabolic stress appears to contribute greatly to the increased vulnerability of neurons to age-related degeneration. Mitochondria and the endoplasmic reticulum play pivotal roles in regulating neuronal calcium homeostasis, and alterations in the calcium-regulating functions of these organelles contribute to the pathogenesis of several acute and chronic neurodegenerative disorders. The specific molecular and biochemical alterations responsible for disruption of neuronal calcium homeostasis are being elucidated in disorders ranging from Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases to stroke. The nervous system possesses a remarkable array of neuroprotective signal transduction pathways including those activated by neurotrophic factors and cytokines.
Benzo (a) pyrene Emissions from Gasoline and Diesel Automobiles

A data base was obtained for comparing the benzo(a)pyrene (BaP) emission rates from diesel automobiles with those from current-production, catalyst and noncatalyst gasoline automobiles. Exhaust particulate samples were collected on filters, using a large emission tunnel. The extractable portion of the exhaust particulate was removed by Soxhlet extraction, with a mixture of benzene and ethanol. The BaP determination was made by high-performance liquid chromatography, using fluoresence detection. The BaP emission rate from on Oldsmobile diesel car was the same as the average rate from seven noncatalyst gasoline cars, 2.7 micrograms per mile. The BaP mass concentration in the diesel particulate was five parts per million, about twenty times lower than in noncatalyst gasoline particulate. BaP emission rates showed no simple correlation with hydrocarbon or carbon monoxide emission rates. The catalytic converter reduced BaP emission by more than 95% on gasoline cars, but had no effect on BaP emission from a diesel car.
Striking a Balance Between the Administration of Justice and Free Speech During the Live Broadcast of a Presidential Election Petition

On 28 December 2012, the putative runner-up of Ghana’s Presidential election filed an Article 64 petition, in response to the electoral commissioner’s declaration of his opponent as President-elect of the country. An Article 64 petition conscripts the country’s Supreme Court to determine whether the person declared as President-elect is validly elected and, where necessary, to invalidate the declaration and make other consequential declarations, including declaring a new President. The petition, and the ensuing hearings, were important in several important respects: (i) this was the first time the petition had been used in the history of the country; (ii) the petition captivated the public’s interest given the petitioners’ political gravitas; (iii) the petition was quintessentially about a political matter, albeit litigated in a courtroom; (iv) the members of the panel hearing the petition, along with the Chief Justice, had participated in the inauguration and swearing in of the President, whose election’s validity was now before them; (v) there was a realistic possibility of unseating an incumbent President, unheard of in Africa or even most of the advanced democracies; and (vi) the Chief Justice allowed live broadcast of the hearings, although it appeared that the panel hearing the case was not in support of such coverage. The decision to broadcast the hearings created a demand for ‘analysts’ to explain the technical proceedings in the courtroom to the general audience.
The Ends of Improvisation

centuryhad next to no solo improvisations. In the usual recounting of jazz history, the arrival of jazz as a mature art form is synonymous with the move from Dixieland's group improvisations to the prominence of the improvising soloist, exemplified by Louis Armstrong. But how do we account for, or assess, this recounting? What makes the improvised solo, as it has developed in the wake of Armstrong, a maturation of the possibilities of this art form? The following is an attempt to address this question in a small way by considering the significance of one distinguishable feature of an improvised jazz solohow it endsin light of Joseph Kerman's seemingly parallel consideration of the history of development of the endings in classical concertos. This effort will lead me to propose a counter-parallel, between the jazz improviser's attitude toward the solo's end and Wittgenstein's attitude toward our (or philosophy's) arriving at the end of justifications. The parallel will depend on one's granting that both the improviser and Wittgenstein are, in their distinct ways, doing battle against the recurring human fantasy of the fixity of experience. The essay concludes with an illustration of the jazz improviser 's treatment of the solo's end that should help to bring out how that battle is wagedand, in exemplary instances, wonon the bandstand and in the studio.
Regulation and repercussions of reproductive aging: An introduction

I had the privilege of organizing the First Annual Symposium on Neuroendocrinology that was presented at the Society for the Study of Reproduction Meeting in 1999. This annual symposium was made possible by a generous grant from Dr. Virendra B. Mahesh. The theme of the symposium was ‘‘The Regulation and Repercussions of Reproductive Aging.’’ During the past several years many investigators have focused their attention on the effects of age on several physiological systems. The increasing attention to understanding the process of aging may be explained in part by our rapidly increasing life span. Over the past century, the average life span of humans has increased from about 50 yr to over 80 yr. Thus, within 100 yr, we have extended our longevity by over 30%. Unfortunately, the quality of life during our last years is not always optimal. The hope of gerontologists is to understand the biology of aging so that we can improve the quality of life during our later years. This may be possible if we understand more about the mechanisms that regulate age-related changes in multiple systems. Three speakers presented talks at this symposium, and the following minireviews summarize their talks. Dr. Barry Zirkin provided an excellent review of the effects of age on the male reproductive system. His work clearly demonstrates that age-related changes in Leydig cell biology are a critical component that contributes to the agerelated decline in male reproduction. Further, his work highlights the interactions between the pituitary and testes in reproductive aging. Dr. Beverly Rubin’s work focuses on changes that occur in LHRH neurons and central nervous system regulation of these neurons. Her work has provided insights into the importance of rhythmicity in LHRH dynamics and how this changes with age. Finally, I presented data that reveal that estradiol acts as an important protective factor in the adult and aging brain. These findings suggest that postmenopausal women, who are chronically hypoestrogenic, may be more vulnerable to brain injury and neurodegenerative diseases. Together, these three articles provide a broad view of the neuroendocrine system of the aging organism and should help readers to understand the complexity of the aging process.
The electrostatics of parachutes

Abstract Parachutes play an important role in many military operations involving personnel and equipment. Parachute designers have long suspected that nylon fabric may acquire enough electrostatic charge to impede or even prevent parachute opening. The work reported here seeks to determine the conditions, if any, under which electrostatic effects become important during parachute opening. A simple Bernoulli model is used to estimate the principal aerodynamic forces during the early stages of inflation. Electrostatic forces are estimated using a variety of models, including a double layer model for two folds of charged parachute fabric, a vertical charge slab model for a separated parachute gore, and a discretized model for the peeling folds of a parachute gore. The various models are used to predict the minimum airspeed required to open a charged parachute. Theoretical results are compared with actual measurements of a small-scale charged parachute deployed in a wind tunnel.
A parallel load flow algorithm

Abstract This paper presents a parallel load flow algorithm employing the fast decoupled method. The algorithm transforms the problem's matrices into block diagonal form which is analogous to parsing the network into a number of independent clusters connected through tie lines. It modifies the clusters' matrices to account for the effect of cut lines in a manner that produces nonsingular and well-conditioned matrices. It uses existing efficient load flow programs with some modifications. The approach avoids problems associated with the parallel solution of highly sparse large linear systems of equations. Test results of standard systems and an existing 1177-bus system are included to illustrate the usefulness of the algorithm and its viability in parallel processing implementation.
Hybrid Positive Feedback Control for Active Vibration Attenuation of Flexible Structures

A new controller is introduced in this paper as a novel method for active vibration suppression in flexible structures. The hybrid positive feedback (HPF) uses a second- and a first-order compensator that are fed by the displacement and velocity feedbacks, respectively. Parallel pairs of the HPF controller are implemented when suppression in multimode condition is issued. Since the controller uses two gains for each pair of the actuator/sensor patch for each mode, a suitable gain optimization method has to be used to ensure the optimum performance. To this end, ${\cal H}_2$ and ${\cal H}_{\infty}$ optimization approaches are utilized. For validation purposes, the controller is verified numerically and experimentally for vibration control of a cantilever beam. System identification is performed, then closed-loop system responses to simultaneous multimode and swept frequency excitations are obtained. According to the results, the HPF controller has a superior performance compared to the conventional method of positive position feedback. Vibration displacement amplitudes were reduced by more than 85% relative to the uncontrolled state. The best performance was achieved by the ${\cal H}_2$ -optimized HPF, as the net value for vibration displacement amplitude reduction in the multimode condition was 90% of the uncontrolled amplitude.
Cyanide-Catalyzed Additions of Acyl Phosphonates to Aldehydes: A New Acyl Donor for Benzoin-Type Reactions

Acyl phosphonates have been utilized as new acyl donors for cyanide-catalyzed benzoin-type reactions. Cyanation of acyl phosphonates, followed by a [1,2]-phosphoryl migration generates the active acyl anion intermediate. The presumed (cyano)phosphate anion reacts with a variety of aryl aldehydes to yield phosphate ester-protected, unsymmetrical benzoins in good to excellent yields. The unsymmetrical benzoin product can be obtained after deprotection of the phosphate ester with an aqueous amine solution.
Communication Strategies for the Intrapartum Nurse

Communication is a dynamic process involving the use of verbal and nonverbal techniques. The intrapartum nurse must use effective communication techniques when eliciting information during the initial interview and throughout the labor and delivery process. The use of effective communication techniques positively affects the client's birth outcome and satisfaction with the birthing experience. This article provides an overview of communication techniques and illustrates specific communication interventions useful in the clinical setting.
Evolution of ground state and upper critical field in R 1-x Gd x Ni 2 B 2 C (R=Lu,Y) : Coexistence of superconductivity and spin-glass state

We report effects of local magnetic moment, ${\text{Gd}}^{3+}$, doping $(x\ensuremath{\lesssim}0.3)$ on superconducting and magnetic properties of the closely related ${\text{Lu}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{Gd}}_{x}{\text{Ni}}_{2}{\text{B}}_{2}\text{C}$ and ${\text{Y}}_{1\ensuremath{-}x}{\text{Gd}}_{x}{\text{Ni}}_{2}{\text{B}}_{2}\text{C}$ series. The superconducting transition temperature decreases and the heat capacity jump associated with it drops rapidly with Gd doping; qualitative changes with doping are also observed in the temperature-dependent upper critical field behavior, and a region of coexistence of superconductivity and spin-glass state is delineated on the $x\text{\ensuremath{-}}T$ phase diagram. The evolution of superconducting properties can be understood within Abrikosov-Gor'kov theory of magnetic impurities in superconductors taking into account the paramagnetic effect on upper critical field with additional contributions particular for the family under study.
Sexual Esteem, Sexual Depression, and Sexual Preoccupation in the Exchange Approach to Sexuality

A sample of 124 undergraduate students completed the Sexuality Scale and the Sexual Approach Questionnaire developed by Snell. The analysis indicated that those who scored high on the Exchange approach to sexuality (n = 43) scored lower on Sexual Esteem and higher on Sexual Depression and Sexual Preoccupation than those who scored low on Exchange (n = 43). Furthermore, men (n = 49) scored higher on preoccupation with sex than did women (n = 75).
Components of Springer fibers for the exceptional groups G2 and F4

Abstract Let G be the complex connected simply connected simple Lie group of type G 2 or F 4 . Let K denote the fixed point subgroup relative to an involution of G that is lifted from a Cartan involution. This article gives a description of certain components of Springer fibers associated to closed K -orbits contained in the flag variety of G . These components allow us to describe certain multiplicity polynomials associated to discrete series representations of the real form G 2 2 of G 2 and the two real forms F 4 4 and F 4 − 20 of F 4 . The goals for this paper are motivated by the descriptions of Springer fiber components and the associated multiplicity polynomials for type S U ( p , q ) described in a paper of Barchini and Zierau.
Prevention and Treatment of Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease (CHD) remains a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the United States, despite our better understanding of the pathobiology of atherosclerosis, our knowledge of risk factors, the widespread availability of inexpensive cholesterol screening, and the availability of effective and well-tolerated cholesterol-lowering agents. Advances in these areas have created controversies regarding who should be screened and treated for primary or secondary prevention of coronary events. The advent of the statin class of lipid-lowering agents represented a major advance, because they are much more effective and better tolerated than previous agents. There is general agreement that patients with hypercholesterolemia and established CHD require treatment for secondary prevention of recurrent coronary events. Primary prevention is controversial in all patient groups except those with diabetes, because their risk of developing CHD is dramatically increased. Postmenopausal women and the elderly are undertreated, whereas young adults may be underdiagnosed and undertreated. Several ongoing trials may resolve the controversies about which patient groups will benefit from different prevention and treatment strategies.