cssi/SciSciGPT-SciSciNet huggingface dataset:
Initiatorless Photopolymerization of Liquid Crystal Monomers

Liquid crystal monomers are widely employed in industry to prepare optical compensating films as well as extend or enhance the properties of certain display modes. Because of the thermotropic nature of liquid crystalline materials, polymerization of liquid crystalline monomers (sometimes referred to as reactive mesogens) is often initiated by radical photoinitiation (photopolymerization) of (meth)acrylate functional groups. Here, we report on the initiatorless photopolymerization of commercially available liquid crystalline monomers upon exposure to 365 nm UV light. Initiatorless polymerization is employed to prepare thin films as well as polymer stabilizing networks in mixtures with low-molar-mass liquid crystals. EPR and FTIR confirm radical generation upon exposure to 365 nm light and conversion of the acrylate functional groups. A potential mechanism is proposed, informed by control experiments that indicate that the monomers undergo a type II Norrish mechanism. The initiatorless polymerization of the...
Burrowing and foraging activity of marsh crabs under different inundation regimes

Abstract New England salt marshes are susceptible to degradation and habitat loss as a result of increased periods of inundation as sea levels rise. Increased inundation may exacerbate marsh degradation that can result from crab burrowing and foraging. Most studies to date have focused on how crab burrowing and foraging can impact the dominant low marsh plant species, Spartina alterniflora . Here we used a mesocosm experiment to examine the relationship of foraging and burrowing activity in two dominant New England crab species, Sesarma reticulatum and Uca pugilator , and the combined effect of inundation, on the dominant high marsh plant species Spartina patens using a 3 × 2 factorial design with three crab treatments ( Sesarma , Uca , control) at two levels of inundation (low, high). Plants were labeled with a nitrogen (N) stable isotope tracer to estimate plant consumption by the two crab species. At both levels of inundation, we found that S. reticulatum had a significant negative impact on both above- and below-ground biomass by physically clipping and uprooting the plants, whereas U. pugilator had no significant impact. Low inundation treatments for both crab species had significantly greater aboveground biomass than high inundation. Stable N isotope tracer levels were roughly the same for both S. reticulatum and U. pugilator tissue, suggesting that the impact of S. reticulatum on S. patens was not through consumption of the plants. Overall, our results suggest the potential for S. reticulatum to negatively impact marsh stability, and that effects of crab foraging behavior may be heightened by increased inundation.
An Integrated Epigenomic Analysis Approach To Determine the Molecular Basis of Acute Leukemias.

Abstract Acute leukemias are classified based on their immunologic, cytogenetic and morphologic characteristics. However, in most instances, response to treatment and survival probability cannot be accurately predicted, suggesting that the disease is even more complex and heterogeneous than can be shown with current techniques. Although prognostic value has been shown for certain gene expression profiles, expression profile studies are limited by the fact that only a snapshot of mRNA content is obtained in a basal state, failing to represent how genes will respond to different stresses, also failing to detect the roles of genes expressed at lower levels for which major changes in expression levels are often lost in the “noise” of expression arrays. In order to overcome these issues and to provide a more accurate molecular phenotype of acute leukemias, we established an integrated epigenomic and genomic high-throughput platform using novel techniques and custom high-density oligonucleotide arrays. We combine studies of i) genome-wide cytosine methylation using a novel technique we developed that provides accurate quantitative determination of DNA methylation levels, using genome-wide custom oligo arrays, ii) chromatin structure by ChIP on chip for histone code settings associated with active or repressed genes using 24 K promoter tiling arrays, iii) gene copy number by array-based comparative genomic hybridization (array CGH) at 6 kb resolution genome-wide and iv) 36 K gene expression arrays. Results are validated by single locus quantitative PCR techniques. Cross platform integration is facilitated by use of NimbleGen oligo arrays for all studies and analysis using novel bioinformatics and statistical models. We used this integrative analysis platform to perform an in-depth analysis of the epigenomic basis of AML and ALL using primary patient samples and cell lines. The data allowed us to generate a “gene activity index” which identified the ability of genes to be expressed to be characterized genome-wide in AML and ALL cells. This data also allowed a much more comprehensive analysis of pathways active in these cells to be identified in comparison to expression arrays alone. Our current studies apply integrative platform and gene activity indexing to large series of patients enrolled in multicenter clinical trials in order to provide high-resolution analysis of the molecular basis of acute leukemia.
Research to Practice: Implementing Physical Activity Recommendations.

Introduction Dissemination and implementation science focuses on bridging the gap between research and practice. The Community Preventive Services Task Force published recommendations for increasing physical activity based on scientific review and consensus. Little research on the dissemination and implementation of these recommendations has been conducted in under-represented populations at high risk for inactivity and chronic disease. Methods Partnering with one rural community (beta site), the University of New Mexico Prevention Research Center studied the translation of Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations to practice. Strategies for increasing physical activity were selected, implemented, and analyzed in 2009–2013. Participant observations; content analysis of meeting minutes, field notes, and other documents; and in-depth interviews were conducted over the 5-year period to identify factors important for carrying out Community Preventive Services Task Force recommendations for physical activity in a rural New Mexico community. Results Included among the implementation outcomes were new sidewalks and trails, a community-wide campaign, social support of walking, and park improvements. The following factors were identified as important to the implementation process: an active community–academic partnership; multiple partners; culturally appropriate strategies; and approaches that fit local context and place characteristics (topography, land ownership, population clusters, existing roadways). Conclusions This study illustrates how evidence can be translated to practice and identifies key factors in that process. The successful beta model provides a practical blueprint for dissemination and implementation in rural, under-represented populations. This model is currently being disseminated (scaled up) to other rural New Mexico communities.
Renal Infectious Diseases

Infectious diseases are a major cause of morbidity and mortality in humans throughout the world. Renal involvement by a variety of infectious etiologies either in isolation or during widespread dissemination can result in significant organ dysfunction. Viruses, such as human polyomavirus or adenovirus, can directly infect kidney tubular epithelial cells and induce tubulointerstitial inflammatory responses. Alternatively, the immune response of the host to offending viruses, such as hepatitis B, hepatitis C virus, or human immunodeficiency virus, can lead to immune complex formation resulting in a variety of glomerular patterns of injury. Fungal and mycobacterial infections injure primarily through direct colonization of the kidney, which may be exacerbated by the associated inflammatory response to the initial infection. The kidney has a limited number of ways to respond to the wide array of infectious agents. Therefore, there are many overlapping histopathologic features, and definitive identification of the offending microorganism based on a kidney biopsy can be a diagnostic challenge. The wide spectrum of renal diseases in humans caused by common viral, fungal, and mycobacterial pathogens will be reviewed. Bacterial infections involving the kidney will be discussed elsewhere.
Can Internet Service Providers Lawfully Enhance, or Degrade Third Party Content?

This paper will assess the potential for harm to broadband consumers and competitors when United States Internet Service Providers (“ISPs”) tier service by combining so-called unlimited usage with reduced video image resolution, and also by not metering usage when subscribers access specific content sources. ISPs previously generated no regulatory concerns when they developed different tiers of service and price points based on content transmission speeds and monthly allotment of data consumption. However, recent “zero rating” and “unlimited” data offers have triggered questions whether ISPs engage in unlawful paid prioritization of certain traffic from specific sources as well as traffic degradation by receiving high definition video content, but delivering it in lower standard definition. Additional questions address whether ISPs engage in traffic throttling by slowing traffic delivery speeds when subscribers exceed a monthly downloading threshold, or temporarily slowing speed when high volume subscribers seek service in a congested area. The paper concludes that even though ISPs have self-serving, profit maximizing goals when enhancing, or degrading content carriage and display, such practices can have positive spillover effects that enhance consumer welfare without significantly harming competition in the marketplace of ideas and Internet commerce. On the other hand, the paper recommends the Federal Communications Commission (“FCC”) implement a speedy and fair complaint resolution process to remedy content carriage disputes. While the FCC summarily rejected any violation of the First Amendment in the imposition of network neutrality rules, the paper suggests that some ISP-imposed carriage terms may have the potential for harming the marketplace of ideas and artistic works. The paper considers whether downgrading the screen resolution of received content violates the First Amendment and notes that that Congress required cable television operators to deliver high definition signals without the option of degrading line resolution to conserve bandwidth. The paper suggests that the FCC not prohibit service arrangements that incorporate content delivery degradation, provided subscribers receive full disclosure of the practice.
Ruthenium-Catalyzed C-H Hydroxylation in Aqueous Acid Enables Selective Functionalization of Amine Derivatives.

The identification, optimization, and evaluation of a new catalytic protocol for sp3 C–H hydroxylation is described. Reactions are performed in aqueous acid using a bis(bipyridine)Ru catalyst to enable oxidation of substrates possessing basic amine functional groups. Tertiary and benzylic C–H hydroxylation is strongly favored over N-oxidation for numerous amine derivatives. With terpene-derived substrates, similar trends in reactivity toward tertiary and benzylic C–H bonds are observed. Hydroxylation of chiral tertiary centers is enantiospecific in spite of the ionizing strength of the reaction medium. Preliminary kinetics experiments show a marked difference in reactivity between isomeric cis- and trans-Ru catalysts suggesting that the catalyst is configurationally stable under the reaction conditions.
Acculturation Level and Internalized Homophobia of Asian American Lesbian and Bisexual Women: An Exploratory Analysis

This is an exploratory study of the acculturation level and internalized homophobia of Asian American lesbian and bisexual women. Participants were 27 Asian American women self-disclosed as lesbian or bisexual. They completed a demographic sheet, the Suinn-Lew Asian Self-Identity Acculturation Scale (SL-ASIA; Suinn et al., 1987), and the Lesbian Internalized Homophobia Scale (LIHS; Szymanski & Chung, 2001). Results suggest that Asian-identified persons have lower levels of internalized homophobia than Western-identified persons. There were no significant differences in levels of internalized homophobia between bicultural persons and Asian or Western-identified persons. Counseling and psychological implications, future research directions, and limitations of the study are presented.
Rectal radiation dose-reduction techniques in prostate cancer: A focus on the rectal spacer

Prostate cancer is the most common cancer in men. External beam radiotherapy by a variety of methods is a standard treatment option with excellent disease control. However, acute and late rectal side effects remain a limiting concern in intensification of therapy in higher-risk patients and in efforts to reduce treatment burden in others. A number of techniques have emerged that allow for high-radiation dose delivery to the prostate with reduced risk of rectal toxicity, including image-guided intensity-modulated radiation therapy, endorectal balloons and various forms of rectal spacers. Image-guided radiation therapy, either intensity-modulated radiation therapy or stereotactic ablative radiation therapy, in conjunction with a rectal spacer, is an efficacious means to reduce acute and long-term rectal toxicity.
Immune Hemolytic Anemia and Thrombocytopenia Secondary to Quinidine:In Vitro Studies of the Quinidine-Dependent Red Cell and Platelet Antibodies

Abstract A patient developed immune hemolysis and thrombocytopenia while receiving quinidine. In vitro testing showed that antiquinidine antibodies of the IgG class were active against both cell lines. Complement- and drug-dependent platelet lysis occurred with either the patient’s serum or his IgG fraction; there was no reaction with his IgM fraction. Drug-dependent red cell antibodies were studied by antiglobulin testing and analysis of the interaction of sensitized red cells with human monocytes in vitro. Antiglobulin testing revealed the presence of cell-adherent IgG, IgM, and complement; however, IgG-type red cell antibodies were of prime importance in producing red cell ingestion by monocytes. Donor red cells incubated with the drug and the patient’s serum readily adhered to and were ingested by monocytes. The majority of antibody activity was found in the IgG fraction, whereas only a minor degree of phagocytosis was seen with the patient’s IgM complement fraction. Using the monocyte system, IgG antibodies were detected on the cells, even after extensive washing. This suggests that red cell destruction in this syndrome may occur by a mechanism other than the innocent-bystander type.
The effect of glucose upon reabsorptive transport of urate by the kidney.

The mechanism of the increase in urinary excretion of urate following hyperglycemia has been variously interpreted by different workers (1,2,3,4,5). Hyperglycemia and/or its consequences, in all probability inhibit the tubular reabsorption of urate. This inhibitory effect may be the result of: 1) the elevation of blood sugar per se, 2) an increase in filtered load of glucose with an associated acceleration of reabsorptive transport in that segment of the proximal tubule where glucose is primarily reabsorbed, or 3) the presence of glucose in tubular fluid in a distal segment of the proximal tubule in a concentration substantially greater than that usually present.
SOME ASPECTS OF HORMONAL REGULATION OF METABOLISM IN AGNATHANS

A short paper by Barrington, concerning the morphology of the endocrine pancreatic organ in the larval lamprey and its assumed influence on plasma blood sugar, appeared in 1942. For about twenty years this pioneer effort was not followed by additional research on the metabolic effects of the hormones in cyclostomes. In the early sixties, almost simultaneously and independently of each other, zoologists from Austria, the USSR, Sweden and Great Britain initiated further work in this research area on the representatives of both groups of the most ancient living vertebrates, lampreys and hagfish. The effects of hormones on blood glucose and hepatic and muscle glycogen content came under study first (Falkmer, 1962; Leibson et al., 1963; Schirner, 1963a, b; Falkmer and Windbladh, 1964; Plisetskaya, 1964; Plisetskaya et al., 1964; Bentley and Follet, 1965b; Matty, 1965; Plisetskaya, 1965). From this point, our knowledge of the hormonal control of metabolism in agnathans has been steadily growing.
A well-designed single-subject experimental study reveals potential of electroplataography in treating children with misarticulation of /r/1

Q Is electropalatography (EPG) an effective method to treat rhotic errors in school-aged children with speech sound disorders?Design: This study adopted a multiple baseline design across five child...
Prophylactic anticoagulation to benefit younger patients under 65 years of age with metastatic lung cancer: An analysis of the 2013 Healthcare Cost and Utilization Project (HCUP) data.

6581Background: Cancer patients have increased risk of venous thromboses. Venous thromboembolism (VTE) is reported to be a leading cause of death in cancer patients. It has been hypothesized that p...
Surgeon Perspectives Regarding Death and Dying.

Abstract Background: Surgical patients most commonly receive palliative care services within 24–48 hours of death, and reasons for this delay are poorly understood. Research with nonsurgeons sugges...
Establishing the impact of area studies collections and exploring opportunities for collaborative collecting

This study examines the use of area studies materials by assessing five years of Interlibrary Loan (ILL) lending data and local circulation data from a single research library. It seeks to lay groundwork for future explorations into the implementation of a robust cooperative collection development model for area studies at the national level, with analysis demonstrating that existing ILL programs support scholars from research institutions far beyond their owning institution. They can do so with minimal adverse impact on the local community of scholars at a typical top-tier research library. This case study also investigates the similarities and differences between lending patterns of Less Commonly Taught Language (LCTL) materials and non-domestic area studies titles that are authored in commonly taught languages. The authors conclude with an argument that communities of institutions could develop highly structured cooperative collection building efforts in the area studies that would permit them to redirect resources strategically, collecting area studies materials both more deeply across the community and with a greater emphasis on primary source materials.
Behavioral Health Risk and Resilience among International Students in the United States: A Study of Sociodemographic Differences

Using a resilience framework, the current cross-sectional study examined indicators of behavioral health risk and resilience among U.S. international students (N=322) across key socio-demographic characteristics. A multimethod approach was used to collect data with both an online platform and paper-based survey instrument. Results showed that higher levels of acculturative stress were reported by older students, females, undergraduates, students who lived with their families, and those who had resided in the US longer than 2 years. Findings underscore the importance of culturally-relevant screening and prevention strategies that target resilience and other protective factors to reduce health risk and encourage well-being and academic success among international students.
The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database: update 2011

The Comparative Toxicogenomics Database (CTD) is a public resource that promotes understanding about the interaction of environmental chemicals with gene products, and their effects on human health. Biocurators at CTD manually curate a triad of chemical-gene, chemical-disease and gene-disease relationships from the literature. These core data are then integrated to construct chemical-gene-disease networks and to predict many novel relationships using different types of associated data. Since 2009, we dramatically increased the content of CTD to 1.4 million chemical-gene-disease data points and added many features, statistical analyses and analytical tools, including GeneComps and ChemComps (to find comparable genes and chemicals that share toxicogenomic profiles), enriched Gene Ontology terms associated with chemicals, statistically ranked chemical-disease inferences, Venn diagram tools to discover overlapping and unique attributes of any set of chemicals, genes or disease, and enhanced gene pathway data content, among other features. Together, this wealth of expanded chemical-gene-disease data continues to help users generate testable hypotheses about the molecular mechanisms of environmental diseases. CTD is freely available at http://ctd.mdibl.org.
Virtual tours, augmented reality, and informational modeling for visual inspection and structural health monitoring (Conference Presentation)

Existing infrastructure in the U.S. is deteriorating; the symptoms of overdue maintenance and underinvestment are ever-present in our society (rated with D+ by American Society of Civil Engineers, ASCE). To ensure the safety of existing infrastructure, on-site life-time inspections and structural health monitoring are required. While these methods yield a great deal of raw and analyzed data, current methods for their simple and intuitive management, (i.e., simple and intuitive integration, documentation, access, and visualization), are severely lacking and can lead to mismanagement of infrastructure resources. New technologies such as virtual and augmented reality, combined with informational modeling, have a great potential to overcome this issue. The objective of this work is to develop a method of digital documentation for structural health assessment which is both efficient and effective. Therefore, it must not only achieve maximum productivity with minimum wasted expense in terms of time, cost, and effort, but it must also be flexible enough to retain a diverse set of records such as logs from sensors during structural health monitoring, notes from visual inspection, etc. To address the above challenges, this work proposes a methodology for integrating existing data about a structure and meta-data into a combination of virtual tour (VT), augmented reality (AR) and informational modeling (IM) environment. This method will enable on- and off-site presentation of engineering assessment data in an organized, intuitive, and interactive manner, and additionally foster communication between different parties involved with a structure simultaneously or at different periods.
Jonathan Boucher’s Farewell Sermon

On Sunday, July 24, 1775, the Reverend Jonathan Boucher entered his church, Queen Anne’s Anglican Church in St. George’s county, Maryland, mounted his pulpit, and placed a pair of pistols on the cushion. Then, in what has become known as his “Farewell Sermon,” he shouted down his detractors and preached a diatribe against participation in rebellion.
Is upper gastrointestinal radiography necessary in the initial management of uncomplicated dyspepsia

Study objective: To compare two strategies for the evaluation and management of patients who have had acute dyspepsia for four days or more: empiric high-dose antacid therapy combined with patient reassurance (empiric care) versus therapy based on prompt upper gastrointestinal radiography (traditional care).
Coherent Perfect Absorption in a Weakly Absorbing Fiber

Coherent perfect absorption refers to the interferometric enhancement of absorption in a partially lossy medium upto 100%. This can be achieved without modifying the absorbing medium itself, instead of engineering its photonic environment. Ion-doped fibers are one of the most technologically relevant absorbing materials in optics, which are widely employed in fiber amplifiers and lasers. Realizing complete optical absorption of an incident field in short-length moderately-doped fibers remains a challenge for the cost-effective design of compact fiber lasers. Here, we exploit the concept of coherent perfect absorption to overcome this challenge, whereby two appropriately designed fiber Bragg gratings define a short-length erbium-doped-fiber cavity that enforces complete absorption of an incident field on resonance--independently of the doped-fiber intrinsic absorption. This approach applies to any spectral window and guarantees the efficient utilization of the fiber dopants along its length, thus, suggesting the possibility of next-generation efficient single-longitudinal-mode fiber lasers for applications in optical communication, sensing, and metrology.
In silico Analysis of Gamma-Secretase-Complex Mutations in Hidradenitis Suppurativa Demonstrates Disease-Specific Substrate Recognition and Cleavage Alterations

Background: Familial Hidradenitis Suppurativa and Familial Alzheimer’s Disease are both associated with Gamma-Secretase Complex mutations; however, the two diseases are not epidemiologically associated. Understanding the molecular differences between the two diseases may aid in the development of hypotheses for differing pathogenesis and targets for detection. Aims: To characterize the in silico structural and functional alterations to the Gamma Secretase Complex in Familial Hidradenitis Suppurativa, along with comparison of downstream substrate recognition and cleavage. Methods: In Silico analysis of publicly available genomic data, assessment of protein structure and binding affinity using Swiss-model and Dynamut was undertaken. Differential Expression was expressed using Log Fold Change using the general framework for linear models in R. Differentially expressed genes (DEGs) were defined by FCH ≥1.5 or ≤−1.5 and false discovery rate (FDR ≤0.05). Results: 23 of 39 mutations in HS are degraded via nonsense mediated decay with altered substrate and binding affinity of substrates identified in the remaining mutations. Significant differential expression of ErbB4, SCNB1 and Tie1 in lesional skin was specific to Hidradenitis Suppurativa and EphB2, EPHB4, KCNE1, LRP6, MUSK, SDC3, Sortilin1 in blood specific to Familial Alzheimer’s Disease. Discussion and Conclusions: We present the first In Silico evidence as to the impact of documented mutations in Familial Hidradenitis Suppurativa. We also demonstrate unique substrate recognition and cleavage between disorders, providing a potential explanation as to why the two diseases do not occur within the same pedigree. These proteomic signatures may be a first step in identifying reliable biomarkers for Familial Hidradenitis Suppurativa.
Sea Ice Concentration Estimation From TechDemoSat-1 Data Using Support Vector Regression

In this paper, a framework that employs support vector regression (SVR) is proposed for estimating sea ice concentration (SIC) from TechDemoSat-l (TDS-l) delay-Doppler maps (DDMs). After a general DDM data preprocessing procedure, which includes noise floor subtraction and normalization, a simple and effective feature was extracted from DDMs. Specifically, the feature is selected as the mean value (incoherent averaging) of 128 delay bins at each Doppler pixel (20 in total). After training this proposed SVR algorithm using reference SIC data obtained from multiple passive microwave sensors, test results showed distinct improvement over those of the existing neural networks-and convolutional neural networks-based methods. Furthermore, the input size was significantly reduced (from $128\times 20$ to 20) by using this proposed scheme.
The Role of Wettability on the Response of a Quartz Crystal Microbalance Loaded with a Sessile Droplet

In this work, the interaction between a sessile droplet’s contact angle and a quartz crystal microbalance (QCM) is elucidated. We differentiate the QCM’s frequency response to changes in the droplet contact area from variations in the dynamic contact angle. This is done by developing a computational model that couples the electrical and mechanical analysis of the quartz substrate with the visco-acoustic behavior of the sessile droplet. From our analysis, we conclude that changes in the contact angle have an effect on the frequency response of the QCM when the droplet height is on the order of the viscous decay length or smaller. On the other hand, changes in the interfacial contact area of the sessile droplets have a significant impact on the frequency response of the QCM regardless of the droplet size.
Clinical Reasoning: A 63-year-old man with gastroenteritis progressing to stupor and quadriparesis.

A 63-year-old man with a history of chronic right-sided headaches and intermittent nausea presented to the emergency department with worsening headache, nausea, and nonstop vomiting for 12 hours.
Influence of menstrual endometrial thickness and endometrial scratching on pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer

Objective To explore the influence of different endometrial thickness (EMT) during menstrual period on pregnancy outcomes in frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET), and to evaluate the effect of endometrial scratching in patients whose EMT were more than 7 mm. Methods The data of 1 363 patients accepting FET were retrospectively analyzed. The patients were divided into five groups according to their EMT on the 4th or 5th day of menstruation. Group A: EMT 7 mm; group E: fluid within the endometrial cavity. Patients in group D were further divided into scratching group and non-scraping group. The general conditions, clinical pregnancy rate, implantation rate and ectopic pregnancy rate of patients were compared. Results There were no significant differences in general conditions among the five groups (P>0.05). The average EMT during menstruation and differences in inter-group endometrial growth of the five groups had statistical significances (P<0.05). The average endometrial growth of EMT < 7 mm (group A, group B and group C) was significantly higher than that in group D (P<0.005). The pregnancy rate and implantation rate of group D were significantly lower than those in other groups (P<0.005). While the clinical pregnancy rate and implantation rate in endometrial scratching group (68.29%, 52.67%, respectively) were higher than those in non-scraping group (53.26%, 36.34%, respectively) (P<0.05). Conclusion EMT during menstruation >7 mm can adversely influence pregnancy outcomes in FET. Endometrial scratching may improve the receptivity of endometrium and increase the rate of embryo implantation and pregnancy. Key words: Frozen-thawed embryo transfer (FET); Endometrial thickness during menstruation; Endometrial growth; Endometrial scratching; Pregnancy outcomes
Brief Announcement: Making Synchronous BFT Protocols Secure in the Presence of Mobile Sluggish Faults

BFT protocols in the synchronous setting rely on a strong assumption: every message sent by a party will arrive at its destination within a known bounded time. To allow some degree of asynchrony while still tolerating a minority corruption, recently, in Crypto'19, a weaker synchrony assumption called mobile sluggish faults was introduced. In this work, we investigate the support for mobile sluggish faults in existing synchronous protocols such as Dfinity, Streamlet, Sync HotStuff, OptSync and the optimal latency BFT protocol. We identify key principles that can be used to "compile'' these synchronous protocols to tolerate mobile sluggish faults.
Thermodynamic modeling of calcium carbonate scale precipitation: aqueous Na+-Ca2+-Cl–-HCO3–-CO32–-CO2 system

Abstract To allow for accurate calculations of calcium carbonate scaling in highly saline produced waters, we present a comprehensive thermodynamic model based on the electrolyte nonrandom two-liquid (eNRTL) activity coefficient equation for the aqueous Na+-Ca2+-Cl–-HCO3–-CO32–-CO2 system. The eNRTL binary interaction parameters for the H2O:(Na+-CO32–) pair, the H2O:(Na+-HCO3–) pair, the (Na+-Cl–):(Na+-CO32–) pair, and the (Na+-Cl–):(Na+-HCO3–) pair are identified in this work via the regression of thermodynamic, calorimetric, and phase equilibria experimental data. The binary interaction parameters associated with the H2O:(Na+-Cl–) pair, the CO2:(Na+-Cl–) pair, the H2O:(Ca2+-Cl–) pair, and the (Na+-Cl–):(Ca2+-Cl–) pair are retrieved from the literature. The remaining binary interaction parameters are retrieved from Aspen Plus or set to zero. In addition, the solubility product constants are identified for Na2CO3•10H2O(s), Na2CO3•7H2O(s), Na2CO3•H2O(s), Na2CO3•NaHCO3•2H2O(s), Na2CO3•3NaHCO3(s), and CaCO3(s) via regression of solubility data. The model is capable of accurately calculating all phase equilibria and calorimetric properties at temperatures up to 473.15 K and salt concentrations up to saturation.
Impact of vitamin C on endothelial function and exercise capacity in patients with a Fontan circulation.

Objective. To evaluate the impact of antioxidant therapy on functional health status in Fontan-palliated patients. Design. Prospective, randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Patients. Fifty-three generally asymptomatic Fontan patients. Interventions. Patients were randomized to receive either high-dose ascorbic acid (vitamin C) or placebo for 4 weeks. Outcome Measures. Peripheral vascular function, as measured with endothelium-dependent digital pulse amplitude testing (EndoPAT), and exercise capacity were assessed before and after study drug treatment. Primary outcome measures included the EndoPAT index and peripheral arterial tonometry (PAT) ratio, both validated markers of vascular function. Secondary outcome measures included peak oxygen consumption and work. Results. Twenty-three vitamin C- and 21 placebo-assigned subjects completed the protocol (83%). Median age and time from Fontan completion were 15 (interquartile range [IQR] 11.7–18.2) and 11.9 years (IQR 9.0–15.7), respectively. Right ventricular morphology was dominant in 30 (57%). Outcome measures were similar between groups at baseline. Among all subjects, vitamin C therapy was not associated with a statistical improvement in either primary or secondary outcome measures. In subjects with abnormal vascular function at baseline, compared with placebo, vitamin C therapy more frequently resulted in normalization of the EndoPAT index (45% vs. 17%) and PAT ratio (38% vs. 13%). Conclusions. Short-term therapy with vitamin C does not alter endothelial function or exercise capacity in an asymptomatic Fontan population overall. Vitamin C may provide benefit to a subset of Fontan patients with abnormal vascular function.
Sexual agglutination in yeast: V. Small particles of 5-agglutinin

Abstract An improved preparation of the sex-specific agglutinin from Hansenula wingei mating type 5 has been made by digesting the cell walls with subtilisin. It is similar to the previously reported agglutinin derived by digestion with snail enzymes in its specificity of agglutinating H. wingei mating type 21 only, and in sensitivity of its agglutinating activity to mercaptoethanol. It has less protein, 4%, a small sedimentation rate, 13.1 Svedbergs at 25 °, and a much smaller molecular weight, 570,000, and is more homogeneous in size than the previous preparation. After purification on phosphocellulose, it was shown to be pure in the sense that more than 85% was absorbed by H. wingei type 21 cells.
The Impacts of Budget Reductions on Indiana's Public Schools: The Impact of Budget Changes on Student Achievement, Personnel, and Class Size for Public School Corporations in the State of Indiana.

In recent years, economic downturn and changes to Indiana’s school funding have resulted in significant financial reductions in General Fund allocations for many of Indiana’s public school corporations. The main purpose of this statewide study is to examine the possible impacts of these budget reductions on class size and student achievement. This three-year, quantitative study examines budget cutback amounts, teaching position reductions, per-pupil spending changes, class-size data, and student-achievement indicators. Methods of data collection include a statewide superintendent’s survey, an evaluation of student achievement indicators, and a collection of public financial records of participating Indiana school corporations. Currently, year one is complete. A compilation of this data provides current information regarding General Fund budgets, position reductions, and class sizes for Indiana’s public schools.
Red Sprites and Blue Jets: Transient Electrical Effects of Thunderstorms on the Middle and Upper Atmospheres

Four new and diverse classes of energetic electrical effects of thunderstorms have been documented over the past 5 years. Two of these classes, called red sprites and blue jets, are large-scale optical emissions excited by lightning. Together they span the entire distance between tops of some thunderstorms and the ionosphere. Gamma-ray (1 MeV) bursts and extremely intense VHF radio bursts some 10(exp 4) times larger than normally produced by lightning have been observed from low Earth orbit and are also believed to originate in thunderstorms. Taken together, these newly discovered classes of natural electrical phenomena provide evidence that thunderstorms are both more energetic and capable of electrically interacting with the upper atmosphere and ionosphere to a far greater degree than has been appreciated in the past. Here, characteristics of red sprites and blue jets are summarized.
On full path delay fault testability of combinational circuits

We show that robust tests for all path delay faults in a combinational circuit are not necessary in order to avoid test invalidation due to undesired hazards. Further extension leads to the formulation of the necessary and sufficient conditions for any path delay fault in a multi-level combinational circuit to be testable without potential invalidation by undesired hazards. We prove that all algebraic transformations and constrained resubstitution with complement are testability-preserving for the tests chosen. >
Caldesmon and the structure of smooth muscle thin filaments : electron microscopy of isolated thin filaments

Native and synthetic vertebrate smooth muscle thin filaments have been examined by electron microscopy in order to determine the arrangement of the regulatory protein caldesmon. In synthetic filaments of actin-caldesmon, long slender molecules were sometimes seen running along the thin filament, suggesting that caldesmon can associate with actin along its length, while at other times lateral projections were observed. In native filaments, containing actin, caldesmon and tropomyosin, we found no evidence for lateral projections extending from the filaments, suggesting that caldesmon does not act as a crosslinking protein in vivo. In contrast, elongated molecules were clearly seen following the long pitch actin helices. We suggest that these may represent an association of caldesmon and tropomyosin. Antibodies developed against an N-terminal fragment of caldesmon caused thin filaments to aggregate laterally into arrays displaying approximately 35-38 nm repeats; thin filament aggregates with this periodicity were obtained previously (Lehman et al., 1989) using antibodies to the C-terminal segment of caldesmon. These results suggest that both ends of caldesmon are closely associated with the shaft of the thin filament, supporting a model in which the elongated caldesmon molecule runs along the filament, possibly interacting with tropomyosin, following the long pitch actin helices.
Sirolimus and nefazodone interaction in a renal transplant patient

Background and Objectives: Our case demonstrates the first report of an interaction with sirolimus and nefazodone in a stable renal transplant patient. Nefazodone can inhibit cytochrome P450 3A4 and may result in elevated concentrations of sirolimus since sirolimus is metabolized by cytochrome P450 3A4. Methods: A 44-year-old patient was taking nefazodone pre-transplant and post-trans- plant. When nefazodone was discontinued the sirolimus level was undetectable. Results: This drug interaction was not suspected because the patient was on nefa- zodone pre-transplant. Conclusions: It is very important to monitor the sirolimus trough level when nefa- zodone is initiated, discontinued, or the dose is adjusted to prevent sirolimus subtherapeu- tic or supratherapeutic trough levels.
Do regulations limiting residents' work hours affect patient mortality?

OBJECTIVE: To conduct a statewide analysis of the effect of New York’s regulations, limiting internal medicine and family practice residents’ work hours, on patient mortality.
Metastatic Prostatic Carcinoma Presenting as an Anterior Mediastinal Mass on Gallium Imaging

A great majority of mediastinal lymph node metastases originate from primary neoplasms within the thorax. Mediastinal metastases from other malignancies are not infrequently encountered but are uncommon from a prostatic primary site. Since prostatic metastases may mimic lymphomatous nodes, it is important to be aware that mediastinal adenopathy occurring in a patient with prostatic carcinoma may be caused by metastases from that site rather than from lymphoma, or be secondary to some unknown primary malignancy elsewhere in the body. The author presents a case of metastatic prostatic carcinoma in the anterior mediastinum that was detected on Ga-67 citrate imaging and confirmed on a CT scan.
Transfer of training as a function of intra-list response similarity and degree of original list learning

To investigate the effects of degree of original list learning (DOL) and intralist response similarity (1RS) on transfer phenomena, 260 Ss were assigned to learn, by the study-test trial procedure, one of five transfer paradigms. Themain transfer results were: (a) paradigm C-B > C-A = A-Br > Br-A; and (b) an IRS by DOL interaction.
The mathematical art exhibit ‘Infinite Beauty’ at Utah Valley University, 3–30 March 2009

‘Infinite Beauty’, an art exhibit inspired by mathematics, was held at Utah Valley University in conjunction with the university's annual Math Week, 9–13 March 2009. The art and mathematics theme o...
Reports of financial disability predict functional decline and death in older patients discharged from the hospital.

BACKGROUND: The financial ability to pay for food and medical care is needed to maintain health in older persons following a serious illness. Therefore, we hypothesize that the inability to pay for basic needs, which we call financial disability, predicts adverse health outcomes in older patients discharged from the hospital. OBJECTIVES: To determine the frequency of reported financial disability in older adults being discharged from a hospital, to determine patient characteristics associated with financial disability, and to examine the relationship between financial disability and functional decline and mortality. DESIGN: Prospective cohort study. SETTING/PARTICIPANTS: Two thousand two hundred patients 70 years and older admitted to the general medicine services at two teaching hospitals in Ohio. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: Respondents were interviewed at the time of discharge to determine patients’ financial ability to pay for 6 needs: groceries, general bills, medications, medical bills, a small emergency, and a major emergency. We determined functional decline in ability to perform activities of daily living from discharge to 90 days post-hospital discharge, and death 1 year after hospital discharge. RESULTS: Financial disability was reported to be severe (unable to pay for 3–6 needs) for 21% of patients and moderate (unable to pay for 1–2 needs) for 36%. Financial disability was more common and more severe (P<.001) in persons with an annual household income less than $10,000, in persons with fewer than 12 years of formal education, in African Americans, and in women. In patients with no financial disability, moderate financial disability, and severe financial disability, functional decline 3 months after hospital discharge occurred in 15%, 20%, and 25%, respectively (P=.001), and 1-year mortality rates were 24%, 27%, and 32%, respectively (P=.002). After adjustment for potential confounders, the association of financial disability with functional decline (P=.003) and mortality (P=.02) remained significant. CONCLUSION: Reports of financial disability at hospital discharge identified vulnerable older adults with increased riks for functional decline and death. Interventions that alleviate financial disability may improve health outcomes in older adults discharged from hospital.
Interaural phase disparity of stutterers and nonstutterers.

Stutterers and nonstutterers cancelled the auditory sensation evoked by bone-conducted sinusoidal signals. They accomplished this by appropriate phase and amplitude adjustments of simultaneously pr...
Identification of Microfabric of Kaolinite Clay Mineral Using X-ray Diffraction Technique

A new method is introduced in this study to identify the microfabric (geometric arrangement of platelets) of cohesive soil using standard X-ray diffractometer. Various sampling techniques are used to prepare the Kaolinite clay samples with different microfabrics to assess the consistency and versatility of the proposed method. This method is based on identifying the presence of basal and prism peaks from the X-ray diffraction pattern and corresponding relative intensity values. The present study also demonstrates the conditions for which Scanning Electron Micrographs (SEM) are not capable of accurately identifying the microfabric of cohesive soils. The method proposed in this study uses relative amplitudes of basal and prism peaks avoiding difficult sample and surface preparation procedures, as used by previous researchers in their microfabric identification methods. The proposed method is found to be a rapid and accurate method for identifying the microfabric of Kaolinite clay and should prove to be valuable for routine implementation for studying structured natural clays.
Helminthora and Helminthocladia from California

The development of the male and female reproductive structures of Helminthora stricta and Helminthocladia california from California is described. Isotype material of the former shows that the development of the cystocarp, especially that of the sterile filaments, seems to be diagnostic when compared to what is known in other species. This is confirmed by a study of more recently collected material. The spermatangia of Helminthocladia californica, in contrast, furnish the diagnostic feature of this species. Both species are similar in some ways to other known species in both genera, but these diagnostic features distinguish them.
The binding of serum albumin to phospholipid liposomes.

Abstract The binding of bovine serum albumin to phospholipid model membrane systems has been studied as a function of pH, ionic strength and membrane charge. At pH values below its isoelectric point, bovine serum albumin becomes strongly bound to lecithin-cholesterol-dicetyl phosphate liposomes. The dependence of the binding on ionic strength and membrane charge indicates that actually two types of association are possible: electrostatic and hydrophobic binding. The electrostatic interactions seem to be a prior condition for the formation of the apolar associations which are related to the acid expansion of bovine serum albumin occurring at pH 4.0. It is suggested that the formation of an apolar complex mediated through an initial electrostatic attraction gives rise to the changes in permeability properties of the model membrane which were studied previously.
Exploring the blind spot: audience, purpose, and context in “product, process, and profit”

Technical communicators have longed turned to audience, purpose, and context as they analyze situations. But Mirel's article demonstrates that audience-purpose-context is too weak a framework to handle the job of detailed sociopolitical analysis: not only is it inadequate for analyzing the needs of end users, it is also inadequate for analyzing situations within the writer's organization. In this response, this paper explores the weakness of audience-purpose-context and points to alternative sociopolitical frameworks.